If You Only Knew
by kbrewster
Summary: Ten years after Emily fakes her death, Ian Doyle finds out the truth. He still wants revenge, and now he knows exactly how to get it. H/P
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, guys, I'm pretty excited about this story because this is one that's going to be multi-chaptered and not just a oneshot! It's set to take place after **_**Lauren **_**(I know, another fic centered around the Doyle arc… I just can't help it! Haha). A brief summary that will hopefully ease any confusion: This is set ten years after Prentiss faked her death. Doyle is still in hiding after all those years, and Emily is using a fake identity. When I write her, I will still refer to her as Emily, but when she interacts with anyone she will be referred to by her new identity which is stated in this chapter. Also, as you will see later on, Hotch and Prentiss are already in an established relationship (sorry if you guys expect a… well… 'bang up' smut scene or something, though. But hopefully I will not disappoint you! I want to see how this idea/chapter goes over before I post anymore, so if you like it, love it, hate it, want to burn it- please let me know! **

Emily Prentiss awoke earlier than normal on this March 7th morning. It was barely 5am. She got out of bed and threw on a robe that hung on the doorknob on the door to her bathroom. She quietly opened one of the sliding glass doors at the far end of the bedroom. Her apartment was small and not exactly her idea of an ideal home, but she could afford it. Though the place she called home was far from perfect, she had to admit she loved the small patio outside her bedroom. She often came out here to think. The view from the patio was breathtaking, especially early in the morning.

She sat down in the chair, running her fingers through her hair, thinking about the past. It was something she tried not to do. She tried to forget everything, forget her past and who she used to be. Every time she thought she might be close to forgetting March 7th would roll around again and everything would come flooding back to her.

She let herself be Emily Prentiss again for just an hour or so every March 7th. She closed her eyes, thinking about her time in the warehouse with Ian Doyle. He'd held a gun to her head. She was prepared to die, but she hadn't. She came so close, in fact, she coded in the ambulance. She'd thought that was the end for her. She was terrified, but if it would keep her team, her friends, _her family _safe, she would do whatever it took.

But she had not died. She woke up in the hospital, hooked up to more machines than she could count, and everything hurt. She half expected to find someone she was familiar with next to her, but that wasn't the case. No one was there except her and a nurse. She knew immediately what had been done even if no one explained it to her. She knew someone, most likely Hotch, had told everyone she was dead. Emily Prentiss, as far as anyone knew, was dead. And it was all to protect her.

How was it that she had set her mind to protect the team, and in turn, they were now protecting her? She didn't understand it, and she wasn't exactly sure she wanted to. What was she supposed to do? Who did the people in the hospital think she was? Where would she go now? Her mind flooded with questions, and as if the nurse could read her mind, she handed Emily an envelope. The nurse told her to read it and discard it immediately afterward.

The letter told her what she already knew. JJ and Hotch had decided the best thing for everyone, was to fake the death of Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss. Her identity as of right now was on a need-to-know basis. Emily herself wasn't completely aware of her identity. As soon as she was able to travel, she was given strict instructions to board a plane using the passport the hospital was keeping for her. She would go to France and she would be met there by someone who would explain what to do after that.

Emily put her head in her hands, and began to cry. It wasn't often she allowed the emotions to overtake her like this, especially not the emotions concerning Emily Prentiss, because she wasn't Emily Prentiss anymore. She was Marie Blanchard, a department store clerk in Paris, France.

She was so absorbed in her own thoughts, she hadn't heard the small footsteps approaching.

"Mama?" she heard a little voice say. Immediately, she stopped crying. She wiped her eyes quickly and turned to look at the source of the small voice: her nine year old daughter, Gabrielle.

"Hey, honey. What are you doing up so early?" She asked, hoping she was off the hook, but Gabrielle ignored her mother's question.

"Were you crying?" she asked, her eyes filled with worry.

"I'm okay, _ma chere_," she said, using one of Gabrielle's favorite French terms of endearment. Emily made sure Gabrielle was fluent in both French and English, so a lot of the time the two languages were used interchangeably.

"But I saw you, you looked upset," Gabrielle pressed on. Emily held her breath. There was no way she would tell Gabrielle the truth, at least not while she was still so young and innocent.

She slowly exhaled, and pulled Gabrielle close to her.

"I'm okay. I was just… thinking about a friend of mine. She… ah, died. Before you were born. And I just miss her." She said, not wanting to lie but not knowing what else to say, either. She figured for now, this was the simplest, least harmful explanation she could give Gabrielle.

"But you're okay?"

"I'm okay," Emily confirmed, smiling. It never failed to amaze her how much better Gabrielle could make her feel.

"Okay," Gabrielle said, slowly sitting in her mother's lap. The young girl leaned back into Emily as Emily wrapped her arms around Gabrielle's middle. The two of them sat there just like that for awhile. Neither one of them said a word.

Gabrielle was nine years old. She would be ten in December. She had dark hair, dark eyes, and for the most part she looked exactly like a miniature Emily. Except for her smile. Gabrielle had her father's smile, and Emily loved seeing it as it was the only thing she had left of him. Emily was also rather amazed at how much of his personality Gabrielle had even though she had never met him. She was compassionate and always cared about those around her. She was tough and strong willed. She could get emotional, but Emily was the only person who ever saw it.

"What do we say we get you back to bed, hmm? It's still early and you need your sleep," Emily told the young girl. It was Sunday, after all. It was the one day a week she didn't have work that she and Gabrielle could spend the whole day together, and they usually liked to sleep in.

"Will you stay with me Mama? And can we stay in your bed?" Gabrielle asked, looking up at Emily.

"Of course," Emily said, confirming both questions as she slid Gabrielle off her lap as the two went back inside to Emily's room, where Gabrielle happily hopped up on the bed. Emily got up on the bed beside her daughter, smiling when Gabrielle instantly snuggled closer to her. Emily ran her fingers through Gabrielle's hair as she softly sang a French lullaby to the young girl, whose eyes were already beginning to close. Emily was thankful that even though Gabrielle was older now, she still had not outgrown Sunday mornings like this. Especially this particular Sunday morning.

One she was sure Gabrielle had drifted back to sleep, Emily closed her eyes and thought back to ten or so years ago. She'd just gotten off the plane in Paris and had just seated herself outside at a café, awaiting the next set of instructions…

_It was cold. Emily was dressed for warmth but she wasn't feeling it. She waited patiently, not exactly sure who she'd be seeing in a matter of moments. She held a newspaper in her hands, acting as if she was reading it, but in reality she was just thinking. She didn't think about what had been, she didn't think about the past. She started thinking about jobs, places to live, and how to keep herself safe. She didn't know how long it would last, but she knew she had to keep running. She had escaped Doyle twice now, and she never wanted to face him again. _

_Suddenly, the chair in front of her was pulled out, and a familiar body graced it with her presence. _

JJ. _Emily thought. She dare not say her name aloud, instead she gave her a brief smile. _

_JJ took a plain envelope from her bag. "Passports from three different countries, and a bank account for each one to keep you comfortable," she said. She handed the envelope to Emily. _

"_Thank you," Emily said sincerely. She wished she could say more, but she couldn't for fear of being watched. _

_JJ nodded slightly. "Good luck," she responded. Emily quickly got up from the table, she knew if she stayed any longer she would start crying. She had to forget Emily Prentiss. _

_She went to the hotel she had a room rented for the night under the name Natasha Clarice. Tonight, she would decide which of the three identities JJ had given her she would use first, and she would start over. _

_Her plans were interrupted as soon as she reached her room. The door was slightly ajar, and she knew she had not left it that way. She pushed the door open and prepared for a fight. Before she could do anything, she heard a familiar deep voice. _

"_It's me, it's okay," Aaron Hotchner said softly. Immediately, Emily's body relaxed immediately. _

"_You're here," she breathed._

"_I couldn't let you leave without telling you goodbye," his voice barely above a whisper. _

_Emily quickly made her way over to him and walked right into his open arms. She blinked back tears and focused on taking in the moment. She closed her eyes and took in his memorable scent. He ran her hands up and down her back, and she balled the fabric of his shirt into her hands as she held onto him for dear life. _

_They stood there like that for a few minutes, neither of them wanting to start the conversation, because they knew it could possibly be the last one they had in person for a long time. So the chose to avoid it as long as they could. Of course, it was inevitable and Emily decided to break the silence. She broke out of Hotch's ever so wonderful embrace and sat on the bed, motioning for him to come sit by her. He did so and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in as close as he could. _

"_You're taking a big risk by being here," she said simply. It was true. With Doyle out on the loose, who knew who he was watching? _

"_I know, I know. JJ wanted to kill me. But I just… I had to see you, Em," he said seriously. _

"_I'm so glad you did come, though," she said, her voice cracking. 'I'm going to be a total girl here for a minute, but when… when I woke up in that hospital all by myself, I was so terrified. I was worried about the team, about you. And then I just… I knew what happened and I was even more scared. And now that you're here and God knows when I'm going to see you again… I'm just. I'm scared, Aaron," she said quickly, before the sobs began to rack her body. She had been trying to stay strong for so long, and she was tired of it. _

_Hotch gently rubbed her back and hugged her. "I know… I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. If there was_ any _other way, I swear we would have done it. But JJ and I talked over every option and… this was the only one that has a hope of us all being together again," he told her, brushing her messy black hair out of her face when they pulled away from the hug. _

"_You're right…" she said. "I just… God, this sucks," she said bluntly. In normal circumstances, Hotch would have laughed about her wording. Instead, he kissed her passionately. She kissed him back with just as much passion. Emily moved back to the top of the bed, leaning against the pillows. Hotch was practically on top of her, and they both new things were about to go farther than they should. _

"_Em," Hotch said in between kissing. "I don't think you're supposed to partake in any… um… strenuous activities, just yet." _

"_I don't care, Aaron. I want you… no. I need you one more time," she said, toying with the button on his nicely fit jeans. _

"_Jesus," Emily breathed later on. "That was… wow," was all she knew how to say. _

"_I love you, Emily. I've always loved you," he said, placing a kiss to her temple. _

"_I love you too," she told him. Hotch reluctantly got up from his very comfortable spot on the bed and collected all his clothing. Once he was dressed, he said: "I wish I didn't have to leave you like this. I want to stay, I swear. But I-"_

"_Go, Aaron." she told him firmly. "You've probably already been here too long. But let's promise each other something, okay?" _

"_Anything," _

"_We can't go looking for Doyle. Okay? Swear to me you won't. Let him come to you, or me, or whoever he wants to come after. Going after him will surely get somebody killed- for real this time," she said. _

_Hotch sighed. As much as he _wanted _to go look for Doyle, to go catch him so Emily could return home again, he knew she was right. _

"_I promise," he said. _

"_Okay," she said. _

"_Okay," he confirmed, squeezing her hand in his. "Remember, I love you," he said, letting go of her hand and walking to the door backwards, so he could still look at her. He reached behind him to turn the doorknob, but before the door opened, Emily leaned up to kiss him just one last time. _

"_And I love you," she confirmed. And then he was gone. Just like that, she wasn't Emily Prentiss anymore. She was dead. She had to pick a new identity now. _

_That's just what she did, too. She picked an identity from the three JJ had given her. She decided her plan would be to stick with the same one until she felt too comfortable or that she was getting too close with the people around her. _

_She hadn't even got to switch to another identity before she found out she was pregnant. That's when everything changed, yet again, for Emily. _


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you everyone for your reviews, favorites, and story alerts! It means a lot to me as I'm still pretty new at this whole thing! **

**I'm not sure I stated this in the first chapter, but I do not own Criminal Minds or any of it's characters. **

**May 2011**

It had been almost a month since Emily had been in France. She stayed in a hotel in Paris that night JJ and Hotch had come to see her. Now, she lived in Bordeaux as Natasha Moreau. According to the brief story JJ had included, she was born in Russia but was adopted by a nice French couple as an infant. When she was nineteen, her adoptive parents were killed in a car accident, and she had been on her own ever since.

Life as Natasha Moreau was simple. She was alone, save for a little black dog who followed her home one day that she had taken to and had named Shadow. It reminded her very briefly of the life she used to lead, except this one was much less busy. Instead of taking down UnSubs and making profiles, she was a guidance counselor at an elementary school. Her hours were shorter, but she did not make friends. She knew that she shouldn't risk getting close to anyone for any reason whatsoever. She had already mentally condemned herself to a life of solitude with the only company being the occasional house pet that may follow her home.

Just as Emily began to accept that fate, she realized she was pregnant. She tried to deny it when she realized she was late and grew tired more easily. But once morning sickness set in around late May, she knew she couldn't deny it any longer. She took three home tests just to be sure. All three tests confirmed what Emily already knew. She panicked. She didn't know what to do. Her entire body shaking, she went to her bedroom at her current place of residence. Slowly, she opened the bottom drawer of her dresser. She dug through the random clothing items she placed there to get what she was really after: a small safe. It took her five times to put the combination in properly due to her shaking hands and watery eyes. She opened the safe finally, lifting all the files out to get to a phone. JJ had called it "the emergency phone." She was supposed to keep it hidden, but only use it if there was a serious emergency. She turned it on and opened the only contact in the phone's contact list. JJ also had an "emergency phone" she would keep with her, just in case it ever rang. It looked exactly like the one she already had, so no one would find it suspicious if one day she answered it near the team.

As the phone rang in Emily's ear, she leaned up against the wall and slid down it into a sitting position. She wouldn't allow herself to cry. That wouldn't solve anything.

"Jareau," JJ answered finally.

"JJ… it's me. We have- we have a problem." she said, not knowing what else to say.

"Hold on, Will," she said. Then Emily heard her say distantly, as if JJ had placed her hand over the speaker. "It's Will. I'm going to take this in my office, be back in a minute," So she was with the team. Emily closed her eyes and but her bottom lip, trying not to think about them. She missed each and every one of them more with each day that passed, and it killed her to think they were only feet away from the woman she was on the phone with.

A few seconds later, she heard JJ's voice speak again. "Okay, I can talk now. What's wrong? Are you hurt?" JJ asked quietly.

"No. I'm… I'm pregnant, Jayje," Emily said honestly, knowing there was no way around admitting it.

"What?" JJ hissed.

"I'm _pregnant,_" Emily emphasized. "I need a permanent identity. I'm not going to raise a child who has to change his or her name every few months,"

"I don't know. What about the father? Have you told him yet? I hope you haven't. We can't drag anybody else into this mess,"

"I haven't told him. I _can't _tell him, JJ. You already know who he is,"

JJ froze. "Oh…_oh,_" She said, "When did you… how did he… what?" JJ asked.

"Aaron came to see me the same night you gave me the three identities," Emily admitted.

"I specifically told him not to do that! Jesus Christ!" JJ said, Emily could tell she was frustrated. "I told him going was a bad idea, it could have jeopardized your location! You could be being watched right now!"

"It's a risk we were obviously willing to take, JJ. But that doesn't matter now. What matters is that I am pregnant with his child and he can't be here,"

"I know, honey," JJ said, her tone softening. "This is an impossible situation, you know,"

"I know. But I'm keeping the baby. I know it's not the smartest option but, it's what I need to do,"

"Or," JJ said. "You can put it up for adoption," She knew Emily would never agree to something like this, but she was trying to be rational.

"No," Emily said firmly, regaining some of her composure. "I won't do that. I've wanted this for as long as I can remember, and I'm not just going to give it up. Just… just get me a permanent identity. That's all I need. I'll be safe. If at any point anything seems strange I'll do whatever it takes to keep me, the baby, and all of you safe. Okay?" Emily pleaded, feeling tears stream down her face again. She knew keeping this baby was a risk. Part of her knew that letting the baby be adopted would be safer for everyone involved. But Emily wanted to be selfish just this once. Not only had she dreamed of motherhood for years now, but she would be the mother of hers and Aaron Hotchner's child. The man she grew to love in the five years she had been with the BAU. She didn't know when, or if, she would ever be able to see him again. This child would be a part of him she could keep with her forever. She knew it was a selfish thing to do, and she shouldn't, but she was going to. No matter what JJ "advised" her to do, she was keeping the baby.

JJ sighed on the other end of the line. Emily was stubborn, even if she wasn't legally Emily anymore. JJ thought about Henry and how never in a million years would she have given him up, even if she was scared at first. She knew she had to handle this quickly and efficiently, keeping Emily and her unborn baby's best interests in mind at all times.

"Okay, well. If that's what you need then I'll do it. We've talked long enough, if we go any longer we might get tracked or tapped into. I'm throwing this phone away but someone will be in touch with you by the end of the week. Good luck," JJ said sincerely.

"Thank you," Emily whispered. "I'm sorry,"

"Don't be, and Em? Congratulations," JJ said quietly, hanging up the phone and tucking it away in a desk drawer, making a mental note to throw it away once she left the office.

Emily, too, hung up her own phone. She kept it, though. Knowing that someone would be in touch with her later on in the week. She found herself growing increasingly nervous. What if she couldn't pull this off?

She found herself dropping a hand down to her still flat stomach. She vowed that no matter what happened, the tiny person growing inside of her would be safe. She would make sure of that.

Just as JJ had said, by the end of the week, someone had called and had given her strict instructions on where to go so he could give Emily everything she needed to start over yet again.

Emily met the mystery person at a nearby park. They didn't speak a word. He walked by her and handed her the envelope discreetly, which she tucked in her jacket and briskly made her way back to her small cottage.

Once inside, she tore open the envelope. All the instructions were there. She immediately discarded the phone, knowing she would no longer be needing it. She was now Marie Blanchard. The goal was to keep herself as invisible as possible, so she was instructed to find an apartment in Paris and get a job doing something small. As far as a back story for her new identity, all that was there was that she was raised by an aunt from an early age, but had been on her own since the age of nineteen. She knew she would have to think of an excuse for her baby's father at some point, but she wasn't showing yet so she knew she had time to come up with a story.

Taking in a deep breathe, she packed everything she would need and got rid of everything she wouldn't. She quickly left the cottage, without a word to anyone. The dog who she'd named Shadow was nowhere to be found, so she didn't have to worry about him either. She disappeared for the second time in almost three months to become someone else. Except this time she knew she wouldn't be alone. In a few months, she would be responsible for not only keeping herself safe, but another life as well. She was terrified and ecstatic all at the same time.

**March 7****th**** 2021**

Emily slowly opened her eyes to glance at the clock, it was nearing noon and both she and Gabrielle were still in bed. She sat up and gently shook the nine-year-old's shoulder.

"Gabby, wake up sweetheart," she said softly. Gabrielle rolled over to face Emily.

"What time is it?" she rasped.

"It's almost noon, we've almost slept the whole day!" Emily said. Not that Emily minded. If it were up to her, she'd sleep away every March 7th.

Gabrielle sat up and threw the covers off of her. "Can we go for a walk in the park today? It's so pretty outside!" she exclaimed, pointing out the window. The mother-daughter duo's favorite thing to do was take a walk in the park near their apartment. Gabrielle liked to feed the birds, much to Emily's protests.

"I think that's a great idea," Emily smiled. "We'll go get ready and then we can go, alright?"

"Okay, Mama!" Gabrielle said happily, jumping down from the bed and running to her room at the back of their apartment.

Emily quickly got herself ready, then made her way into the kitchen to make something that she and Gabrielle could eat before they finally grabbed their coats and walked down to the park.

Gabrielle skipped a few feet in front of Emily and began to walk backwards, telling her mother one story after another about school, her friends, her new favorite foods, and even her piano teacher.

"Be careful, sweetie. I don't want you to fall!" Emily warned her daughter. She had faked a slight French accent when she first moved to France, but by now it was almost second nature for an accent to be heard when Emily spoke.

"Sorry," Gabrielle said, walking beside her mother and grabbing her hand, continuing on with the story she was telling previously. Emily couldn't help but smile at Gabrielle at the light in Gabrielle's eyes as she talked excitedly. It was the same light her father's eyes would get that only very few people got to see, and luckily Emily had been one of them.

"Oh!" Gabrielle said suddenly, letting go of Emily's hand to run ahead of her as she began chasing some of the birds in the park around. For as far back as Emily could remember, Gabrielle had always been determined to catch one of the birds to keep as a pet. Emily had tried to discourage Gabrielle at first, but after watching her and noticing the determined look on her face that resembled Hotch's, she could never find it in her to say no. Plus, it was quite amusing to watch Gabrielle slowly and cautiously try to catch a bird, but resort to wildly chasing them around much like she was doing now.

Gabrielle was laughing and waving to Emily. "Come with me!" she called. Emily hesitated. Normally she just watched Gabrielle chase the birds, she'd never actually done it with her.

"I don't know, Gabby. Why don't I just watch you?"

But Gabrielle persisted, sticking out her bottom lip into a pout. "Please Mommy?" she asked, knowing there was no way her mom could say no to that.

Emily playfully rolled her eyes. "Alright, alright. Why not?" she said, running over to her daughter, chasing around birds in the park and ignoring the stares from strangers.

Ian Doyle had finally found her, after all these years. He had been searching and coming up empty for so long now. However, he finally figured out where Emily Prentiss, or Lauren Reynolds, or whoever the hell she was- was hiding. He carefully watched the team. He watched their behavior and he knew by watching the blonde and the leader that something wasn't quite right. He ran into many dead ends before finally noticing that the two of them had made a trip to Paris at the same time. He dug further, learning that there had been no case, in fact, they hadn't even used their real names when they traveled. They stayed no longer than one night each.

Ian Doyle had found that suspicious. So he started in Paris, looking for anyone who might possibly be the one he had once called "love." Ian Doyle had trusted Lauren Reynolds. He had loved her, he even asked her to marry him. He had let his child grow attached to her, and in the blink of an eye it had all been ripped away from him. She had never been on his side. Then, he discovered her true identity. Emily Prentiss. He thought maybe he really had killed her in the warehouse ten years ago, but when he realized he hadn't, his hatred and anger only grew. He wouldn't stop until he found her now that he knew she was alive.

He had actually found her by accident. He had been walking down the road, not really sure where he was going when he just so happened to look up into a department store window. There, he saw a woman setting up a display of whatever the latest fashion was the store now carried. He almost walked right past her, but then he noticed her finger nails. They were bitten down as far as they could go, just like Emily's. He stopped in his tracks and looked at the woman's face. Yes, she was older now. That was to be expected. Her hair was a lighter shade of brown, and much longer than he remembered it ever being.

But her eyes, her eyes had not changed at all. They were exactly the same as he remembered them. He knew now that he had her, and before she looked directly at him, he quickly walked away. He wouldn't do anything just yet, he wanted it to go exactly as he planned. He wanted to see what she did on a daily basis, and who she came in contact with regularly before making his move.

So, for nearly two months, he had been watching her. Her noted she really didn't have much of a life. She went to work at the department store all day, and she came home to her apartment. She didn't seem to have any friends or a boyfriend. Soon, he realized the reason for it all: the dark-haired, brown-eyed little girl that looked exactly like Emily. The girl was small, she couldn't have been any more than eight or nine. From the looks of it, the girl and her mother got along very well.

As he watched them from behind a newspaper sitting on a bench in the park on this March 7th afternoon, he realized just how true that was. It seemed to him the girl was the most important part of Emily's new life.

"See you soon, Love," he said softly to himself, folding the newspaper and walking away, desperate to make a plan. He knew exactly what to do and he wouldn't rest until he did it.


	3. Chapter 3

**Back again with the latest installment! This one's the longest chapter so far, and it goes into Hotch's side of things. There is a flashback in the beginning/middle part, but I labeled it to ease confusion! : ) I've already started on the next chapter because I was kind of excited about this part of the story so hopefully I will have chapter 4 up soon! Thank you all for reading, favoriting, reviewing, and story alerting! **

**-kbrewster**

March 7th. Oh, how Aaron Hotchner hated March 7th. He had gone through ten of these now, and not one of them had been any easier. Although ten years have come and gone and life has changed immensely for the former BAU Unit Chief, his heart still ached. It ached for not having seen the woman he loved so dearly for ten years. It ached because he couldn't bear the thought of her out in a different country all by herself, even if she was strong enough to be alone. His heart sank to his stomach every time he thought about the number of people he had outright _lied _to in the past ten years. The phone calls he and JJ had made to Emily's family, old friends, the funeral homes… and it was all lies. It was the best way to protect her, he knew. He accepted that and knew that was the only thing keeping him from going completely insane.

Hotch found himself in front of Emily's headstone for the tenth time since she left. He knew he wasn't really visiting her, that what was buried underneath that grey headstone was no more than a weighed down coffin. Still, it was the only way he knew how to cope without actually seeing her. He placed new flowers on the headstone, taking away the flowers that were starting to wither away. He sighed, slowly tracing each letter engraved on the cold marble.

"I miss you," he whispered to himself. He knew Emily couldn't hear him when he talked, but talking made him feel better. He didn't have any one else to talk to about her, so this was his way of handling his feelings.

He then sat on the ground, not caring that it was too cold to be doing so. He buttoned his coat up and brought his knees up to his chest, wrapping his arms around his knees.

"I can't believe it's been ten years," he said. "Ten whole years without you… ten years since I've heard anything from you. I know that's not your fault, but I wish it wasn't like this. When I made the decision I made, I never in a million years thought you would really be gone this long… I thought… I thought maybe we could find him. Get rid of him for good this time… and then you could come back. You could come back to the States, back to the BAU…. Back to me," He fingered the petals of one of the red roses he had just laid on her grave.

"But you're still gone. I'm sorry, Emily. I'm sorry for everything," he said as sincerely as he knew how. Slowly, he lifted himself up off the ground, taking one last look at the headstone before walking away. He got in his car and drove home to get ready for Jack's soccer game that afternoon.

Jack was seventeen now. He was one year from graduating, and Hotch couldn't believe it. As slowly as time had seemed to pass without Emily, he was amazed at how quickly Jack had grown up. He was near the top of his class grade-wise, and he played on his school's soccer team.

Hotch has retired from the FBI just shy of three years after Emily left. He wanted to spend more time with Jack, and if he was being honest, being at the BAU every day and seeing the team was killing him. Even though he knew Emily wasn't really dead, continuing to be there and try to move on was actually the main thing preventing him from healing. So, he went to Strauss one gloomy morning in February. By the end of the following week, Hotch was a retired man. At first, he had no idea what to do with so much free time, but slowly he formed a new schedule to accompany his new life of constant stay-at-home Dad.

Though most of his adult life, he felt lost without work, he knew this was the best decision for him and Jack. The father-son duo spent as much time as they could together, and both were thankful for the time.

When Hotch retired, Jack was ten. He wasn't a little kid anymore, so their lists of things to do grew significantly with each passing year. Even now that Jack was nearing his entrance to adulthood, he still made time to spend with his dad.

As Hotch drove back to his house he shared with his son, he began thinking back through the years. He smiled and his heart fluttered when he thought of one particularly happy memory from years ago.

**October 2010**

Hotch and Jack were up earlier than Hotch liked to be awake on a Saturday, but this morning was a special morning for them. Emily was coming to spend the day with them. Emily had been such a help to both Hotchners surrounding Haley's death. He and Emily had been caught in something of a "will-they-won't-they?" scenario ever since Hotch had divorced Haley. Emily had also been a help to Hotch then as well. She took on the "best friend" role. He would call her when he couldn't sleep at night, he invited her over when he needed to talk to someone, and he trusted her around Jack. It was rare, but there had been several times Hotch would have a late meeting with Strauss and Jessica was unable to keep Jack. When this happened, the only person he would ask was Emily, who always readily and happily agreed.

This particular Saturday morning had been planned per Jack's request. He had asked Hotch if Emily could accompany the two of them on a trip to the movies. Knowing that Jack had grown particularly fond of Emily made it nearly impossible for Hotch to say no. So, he agreed and it was decided that Emily would come over around 11 that morning and then the three of them would go see the latest animated children's movie.

Though, Jack was wide awake by 6am, too excited about the days events to sleep any longer. Reluctantly, Hotch was already up and in his kitchen making breakfast for his animated five-year-old. Chocolate chip pancakes, as Jack requested. The boy was in the living room just a few feet away, playing with action figures as a TV show he liked played on in the background.

As Hotch prepare he meal for Jack, he himself began thinking about the day ahead. He was actually excited. Excited in a way he didn't remember being excited to spend time with the brunette woman before. He knew what he was feeling, and he found himself wondering if she felt the same way as he did. He thought back to the phone call he had shared with Emily just four days prior, feeling his face warm as he thought about it…

Jack had requested Hotch call Emily immediately upon their return home that evening. Hotch found himself putting it off, not because he didn't want her to come, but because he found himself slightly nervous for asking her to spend one of their precious days off with them. Thought he considered Emily a very good friend, he realized he knew very little about what she actually did when she wasn't working or spending time with him and Jack. What if she had things to do? What if normally her Saturdays were busy? What if she had a _boyfriend?_ He found himself tensing at that possibility, quickly shaking it from his thoughts.

Now that it was past dinnertime and Jack was getting incredibly antsy, waiting for his daddy to call Emily, Hotch decided it was now or never. After he asked Jack to change into his pajamas, brush his teeth, and meet Hotch back downstairs, he sat himself on the couch with his phone in hand. Jack returned from completing his tasks in a very short amount of time, so short that Hotch wondered if Jack had actually brushed his teeth.

"Will you call her now, Daddy?" Jack asked, sitting himself directly beside his father.

"Yeah, Buddy. I'll call Emily now," he said, scrolling to her name in his contacts and pressing the "send" button on his phone.

"Prentiss," she answered after a few rings.

"Hey," Hotch said, clearing his throat. "It's me,"

"Oh, hey!" Emily replied with more enthusiasm than she had before. "I didn't look before I answered. What's up?" she asked.

"Well uh… Jack and I were going to spend the day together Saturday… maybe go see a movie or something. And he… I… we were, ah, wondering if maybe you'd like to come with us?" Hotch said, internally cursing himself for his inability to communicate.

"Sure!" She replied almost immediately. "That sounds great, actually," she said. He knew by the tone of her voice that she was smiling.

"Really?" Hotch asked, not sure why he was so shocked. "I mean, we're not going to be taking your time away from anything, are we?"

"No, no, not at all. I was honestly sitting here wondering what I was going to do tomorrow before you called. A day out with you and Jack sounds perfect,"

"Okay, good. We're always glad to have you," Hotch said sincerely.

"You know I'm always glad to come," she said with just as much sincerity. The rest of the phone conversation consisted of planning times, and then the two agents hung up.

"So she's coming?" Jack asked, bouncing in his seat at the possibility.

"Yep!" Hotch confirmed. "She's coming at 11 in the morning, then we're all going to see that new movie you've been wanting to see," Hotch told Jack.

"Yay!" Jack cheered, standing up on the couch, throwing his fists up in the air.

Hotch fought the urge to laugh to gently remind Jack that he wasn't allowed to stand on the furniture and help Jack down. He then tucked the boy into his bed safely, and proceeded to hear him talk about how excited he was for Emily to come over for the next four days.

Now, the day had finally come. Though it was still extremely early, Hotch found himself just as antsy as Jack. Knowing there honestly wasn't much he could do to prepare for the day at this hour, he finished Jack's pancakes and called him to the table where the two ate breakfast together.

After the kitchen had been cleaned, Hotch and Jack decided they had time to watch _Toy Story _before doing anything else, so that's just what they did. Hotch found himself dozing off, but as soon as the movie was over Jack made sure he was wide awake.

By now, it was nearing 9. "Jack, we've got about two hours before Emily's going to be here, is your room clean?" He asked the five-year-old.

"Ummmm," Jack thought hard. "Kind of…"

Hotch laughed. "I think our definitions of clean are a little different from each other. Go pick up all your toys, okay? Then you can get dressed,"

"Okay, Daddy," Jack agreed, running up to his room. Hotch found himself needlessly cleaning, just trying to give himself something to do to pass the time.

What felt like twice as long as the actual time it took, finally a knock sounded at the Hotchner door.

"Is that Emily?" Jack asked excitedly, running down the hall from his bedroom to the front door.

"I think so!" Hotch said, opening the door to reveal none other than Emily Prentiss.

"Emily!" Jack said, rushing to greet her with a hug. She laughed as she picked him up and hugged him tightly.

"Hi, Jack!" He said. "How's my favorite little Hotchner doing?"

"Good! I'm glad you got to come today,"

"That's good, I'm glad I did too," Emily smiled as she carefully put Jack back down on the ground. She turned to Hotch and flashed him a smile.

"Hey, you," she said.

"What? No 'how's my favorite bigger Hotchner?'" he asked, sending her playful glare.

She rolled her eyes. "How's my favorite bigger Hotchner?"

"Fine, thank you," he replied. "How are you?" he asked.

She laughed. "I'm good. Excited about our day," she commented.

Before Hotch had a chance to respond, Jack cut in asking: "Can we go now Daddy? Please?" Dragging out the last syllable in the word 'please' like he did when he wanted something always made Hotch give in.

"We can go," Hotch said. And the three of them walked out of the apartment and down to Hotch's car.

The entire day was described by Jack as 'the most awesome-est and perfect-est day ever!' To which Hotch had to agree, it was a wonderful day.

Before seeing a movie, they all decided to go eat lunch at Jack's favorite pizza place. Hotch found his heart melting at the way Jack politely asked Emily to sit next to him in their booth, and ask her just as politely if she would cut up his pizza for him.

Later on, after they had seen their movie, Hotch found himself enthralled with the way Emily interacted with Jack. The two walked out of the movie theater quoting and acting out their favorite scenes from the movie. He couldn't believe that this was the same woman he worked with on a daily basis, who could be intimidating enough to break even the toughest criminals, standing in front of him quoting an animated children's movie.

Hotch was quite certain that this was the moment he realized he was in love with Emily Prentiss. Most people might call him crazy, as it had barely been a year since Haley had passed. It wasn't that he had ever fallen out of love with Haley, because he hadn't. He would always love Haley, no doubt about it. Unfortunately, their relationship became strained and wasn't working any more. He grieved for her every day, but even he knew he needed to move on. He needed to be truly happy in effort to keep Jack truly happy. This was the moment he realized that Emily Prentiss just might be everything the Hotchners were looking for.

Once the three were back at Hotch's place, it was nearing dinner time. Hotch invited her to stay, which she gladly accepted. Jack requested spaghetti, and all three of them took hand in making the meal. As the spaghetti noodles boiled, Hotch made the sauce and had Emily and Jack in charge of making the meatballs. The kitchen ended up in a giant mess of sauce when Hotch decided to take sauce and put a dab on both Emily and Jack's noses. The two retaliated by trying to get some sauce on Hotch's nose. Hotch running into the living room did not stop Jack from throwing a spoonful at his father. They ended up in a full-on food fight in the kitchen, using almost half the pot of sauce.

"Okay, okay!" Hotch said finally. "Truce! You and Emily win!" he said, raising his arms in the air.

"Good job, Jack!" Emily said, high fiving the boy.

"You too, Emmy!" He replied.

Emily glanced around the kitchen, suddenly realizing the mess she and Jack had caused, and immediately her smiling expression faded into a horrified one.

"Oh God," she breathed. "I'm sorry, Aaron," she said, using his first name which was rare for her. "I'll clean it, it was my fault. I told him to throw it at you,"

"It's okay, Em," he said, grasping her shoulders lightly in his hand, looking directly into her big brown eyes.

They just stared at each other for a moment, and Hotch could only hope Emily was thinking the same thing he was. Finally, she broke the silence.

"I still feel bad… I'll clean it," she said again.

"Right now, we're going to eat this spaghetti, then we'll clean it together, okay?"

"Okay," she said, nodding her head slowly.

They all ate the spaghetti, absolutely covered in the sauce, laughing and pointing out how ridiculous each other looked.

After eating, Hotch gave Jack a bath and Emily went to take a shower, changing into old sweats and a t-shirt of Hotch's, ditching her clothes.

Emily started cleaning the kitchen up while Hotch cleaned himself up, though he took much less time than she had.

Once he came back completely sauce-free, he informed Jack that it was bedtime. Jack, who had been playing with toy cars, whined a little.

"But Daddy, can't I stay up later tonight? Emmy is here!" He said, using a new nickname for her he had started calling her that day.

"It's already later than normal, but come on, maybe if you ask her really nicely she will come tuck you in with us," he whispered though Emily could still hear him. A smile crept across her face.

Jack quickly went into the kitchen where Emily was. "Emmy?" he asked.

"What is it, honey?" she asked, acting like she had no idea what the little boy was going to ask her.

"Can you come tuck me in with Daddy?" he asked hopefully, looking up at her.

"Hmm," she contemplated. "Of course I will come tuck you in, silly boy," she said finally, lifting him up into her arms, carrying him to his room. Hotch followed them, folding Jack's bedding down so Emily could lay him there. Together, they covered him up under the blankets. Hotch flipped on a bedside lamp that doubled as a nightlight.

"Goodnight, Jack, sleep good okay? I love you," Hotch said, leaning down to kiss Jack on the forehead. Jack's eyes drooped, showing his tiredness more than Jack had previously let on.

"Night, love you Daddy," he said sleepily.

Then, Emily took her turn. Though she wasn't sure what to say. She _did _love Jack, but she wasn't sure if it was acceptable or appropriate to vocalize that love.

"Goodnight, sweetheart. I had a really nice time with you today," she finally settled on saying, also placing a kiss on Jack's forehead.

"Night Emmy. I love you," Jack said. That was all it took for Emily's heart to melt completely, and tears threaten to fall from her eyes. She took a breath.

"I love you too," she said sincerely, running a hand over Jack's hair. "Get some sleep, okay?" she said as Jack rolled over and closed his eyes. Emily made her way out of the room before Hotch did, trying to regain her composure.

Once Hotch half-closed Jack's door, he went over to Emily who had tackled the task of cleaning again.

"Emily?" Hotch questioned.

"Was… was that okay, Aaron?" she asked, using his first name again. "Telling Jack I loved him too? I mean I do, he's the most adorable little thing in the world, but I didn't ask you…" she rambled, scrubbing the countertop a little harder than she should have been.

"It was perfectly fine, Emily," he assured her, taking her arm in his hands.

"Really?" she asked.

"Really," he confirmed, brushing some hair away from her face that had since fallen out of her hair tie.

"What does… what does this mean for us?" she asked quietly.

"Whatever you want it to mean," Hotch said.

That was the first time Emily Prentiss kissed him.

**March 7****th**** 2021**

Hotch had a mixture of feelings swarming through his body at that memory. He was happy, because that was the night their relationship took a step from friendly to romantic. It made him sad, because she was no longer there with him. He felt like he didn't have enough time with her, and his heart ached for Jack who truly adored and loved Emily. Lying to Jack about Emily was the most difficult thing Hotch had to cope with, but he couldn't tell him the truth. Not then, when he was so young. He wouldn't have been able to understand. It wouldn't be fair to tell him now, certainly as he had had ten years to process her being gone.

Hotch had arrived back home, now. He grabbed everything he would need for Jack's game and made his way back out the door quickly as he was running a bit late. He arrived at the game just in time to cheer his son on. He truly enjoyed watching Jack play. Just like any proud parent would, Hotch assumed. But he felt like maybe his heart swelled a bit more than most parents when Jack was successful, though he wasn't sure why.

Once the game had ended, Hotch drove back home, leaving Jack with his team who planned to go out to eat to celebrate their victory that day.

Hotch was mentally making note of things he needed to do around the house, errands he needed to run, when something stopped him dead in his tracks.

On the front door there was a note, scrawled in pen. Hotch's insides froze with fear as soon as he read the message.

_I know where they are. _Was all it said. What made Hotch feel sick to his stomach and feel slightly dizzy, was the signature. A clover. That was it.

Ian Doyle had just contacted Hotch. He didn't know who the 'they' was Doyle referred to, but he knew in any instance this was not something he should mess with. Immediately he made his way inside, locking the door behind him, checking for any signs of an intruder. Finding none, he reached for his phone and called Jennifer Jareau.


	4. Chapter 4

**And here it is, chapter 4! :D Thanks again as always for your kind reviews, story alerts, and favorites on this story! It means so much to me!**

**Of course, I do not own CM nor do I own the characters.**

Ian Doyle was quickly making his way down the street, rushing to get to the safety of his run-down motel room he had been inhabiting for weeks now. He needed to call his friend, Paul Connolly to see if he had done what Doyle asked him to. It would set the entire plan in motion, and Doyle was more than ready to see it through to the very end.

He raced up the stairs once he made it into the motel building, too anxious to wait for the elevator to take him up to the fifth floor. He swung the door open, slamming it loudly behind him. He pulled out his phone and dialed Paul Connolly's number, pacing the length of the room several times.

"Did you do it?" Doyle asked as soon as he heard Paul pick up.

"Yes, it's done," Paul confirmed.

Doyle smiled, knowing that the plan was officially in motion. "Good," he said quietly. "You have your eyes on him?"

"Yeah," Paul confirmed. "I'll let you know what he plans to do as soon as I know,"

"Alright," Doyle said. "Talk to you then," he hung up the phone, quickly packing up everything he planned to bring with him. If he was right, which he was sure he was then Emily Prentiss would be brought back to the States. He would meet her and the little girl there, and then he would finally get his revenge.

Doyle and Paul had met years ago, during the days when Doyle's weapons deals were his life. Paul owed Doyle a favor, and Doyle was using him for that favor now. He had instructed Paul to go to Washington, DC, where Aaron Hotchner still lived. He had Paul watch him, just to see what his daily routine seemed to be. Paul had informed Ian that the man seemed to be retired now, or at least out of work. He didn't seem to have a girlfriend, and he spent a lot of time with his son who looked to be about a teenager. Doyle's next instruction was to wait until Aaron Hotchner was out of the house, then stick a note on his front door letting him know Emily and her daughter's locations were compromised.

"Mark it with a clover," Doyle had said. "He'll know what it means,"

That's just what Paul had done. Doyle was now waiting to see what was going to happen next. He knew the former team leader and the blonde liaison had been the ones to fake Emily Prentiss' death. He knew that Hotch would contact her, and he knew they would immediately fly Emily and the daughter back to the States.

_To protect her. _He thought. _We'll see how safe and protected they feel when I'm through with them. _

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.

Hotch was frantic as he waited for JJ to answer her phone. His mind was absolutely racing with questions, and he was honestly terrified.

As soon as JJ finally picked up, he left no time for greetings or casual conversation, he went straight to the point.

"JJ! I just got home from Jack's soccer game… and on the door… a note… Doyle said he 'knows where they are,' who's they? Do you know? What do we do?" He said trying to get it all out in one breath. Normally he handled things with professionalism, rarely losing his cool, but right now he didn't care about any of that.

"Are you home alone?" JJ asked quietly.

"Yes, Jack's out. He will be for awhile. Why?" He asked, wondering why she wasn't freaking out as much as he was.

"There's something we need to talk about, but you need to hear it from me in person. I'll be there in ten, fifteen minutes tops okay?"

They hung up the phone, and Hotch's throat went dry. What was JJ going to tell him? What did she know that he didn't? He paced the length of his living room so many times in the time he waited for JJ, he was sure he'd burn a hole in the floor.

What felt like another ten years, but was really only twelve and a half minutes later, he heard a soft knock at the door. He practically ran to the door, stumbling a little over his own feet as he grabbed the doorknob to let the knocker in. Before unlocking and twisting the doorknob, he looked through the small peephole in the door, just to make sure it really was JJ standing on the other side and not someone else, someone much more dangerous. A miniscule wave of relief washed over him when he saw JJ, who he then opened the door for.

Again making no time for small talk, JJ let herself in, closing the door behind her. She took Hotch's shoulder in her hands and guided him over to the couch as they sat down next to each other.

"JJ, what is it?" Hotch asked, breaking the silence.

JJ sighed, and he could see the hurt in her eyes. "There's something that happened with Emily that I never told you,"

"Is she okay?" he asked, fear setting in the pit of his stomach, his mind racing with hundreds of scenarios gone awry.

"As far as I know, until you got that note, yes. She… she was pregnant Hotch. With your baby. She called and told me one day about a month after we relocated her. She got a permanent identity, a more secure identity. She told me she wouldn't raise a child under several different names. So I had a guy get her a permanent identity. I don't know it, I haven't spoken to her since that day. But it seems like Doyle's found their location…" JJ said, and Hotch could see the tears forming in her eyes.

He blinked several times. He had another child? With Emily? He didn't know what to say. Over the years, he would often find himself thinking about Emily. He would think about the future that could have been. He pictured himself proposing to her. He imagined their wedding. He could see Emily adopting Jack as her own. He knew they would be happy, and often he pictured a pregnant Emily. He imagined her being extremely hormonal, letting the smallest things get to her. He could see himself talking her out of slapping someone who cut in front of her in line at the grocery store. Hotch imagined Emily crying at shows on TV she would normally have laughed at. He could see her practically breaking his hand during labor. But he knew it would all be worth it, because he would have been able to give her the one thing she had wanted most: a child. They would be able to raise the child and Jack together as a family. He couldn't fathom the fact that he _actually _had a child out there with Emily. Was it a boy or a girl? Did he have a little boy with his dimples? Did he and Emily have a little girl who was a spitting image of her beautiful mother? He had a thousand more questions, but every time he opened his mouth to ask one, no sound would come out.

"I.." he started, but JJ held her hand up.

"That's literally all the information I can give you. When she made the decision to keep the baby, we had to cut off _every _tie between each other to keep them both safe," she said sadly.

"What do we do? We can't just sit here and do nothing! He knows where they are!" Hotch nearly yelled, desperate for a solution to the problem.

"It's been ten years, Hotch. It's gonna take me some time, but I'll call the guy I had give her the information and see what he can do. Once we find her, we bring her back. We have to. If she's here with us, we know she's safe," JJ said, doubt obvious in her voice.

"We have to call him now!" Hotch stressed, his only thought on getting Emily and their child back to him safely. They could deal with Doyle later, but right now, he needed to see them both.

"I'm on it," JJ said, taking on her professional attitude, and dialing a number on her phone.

"This is Jennifer Jareau," she said once the person she called picked up. "Do you remember ten years ago, I had you go to France to give a woman a fake identity?" She paused. "You do? Great, okay. Her location has been compromised by the person we're keeping her from. We need her name and location. She needs to be flown back to DC _as soon as possible_," JJ emphasized the phrase, to make it known to the person this was a serious matter.

"No," she said firmly. "It needs to be done now. It cannot wait! The man that's after her is _highly _capable of killing her, _and _her child! Can you please take care of this?" Another pause.

"Thank you," she said finally, letting out a breath of air. "We'll be awaiting your call," she said, hanging up the phone.

Hotch looked at her. "So?" he asked.

"He's going to call her and tell her, and get her and the child back to DC. After that, I don't know," she said honestly. "I don't know what to do. If he found her once, he'll find her again,"

"But we'll be ready. I'm _not _letting him win again. He took Emily from me once, but it's never happening again. Should we tell the team?" Hotch asked.

"The team? Hotch, it's been so long…" she trailed off.

Each member of the team had since gone on to different things since what they thought was Emily's death. They had all kept in touch, some of them still lived close enough to hang out together, but JJ and Hotch had remained the closest of them all.

Rossi had taken another retirement, this time not planning to return to the field. He had written several more books in the past ten years, but spent much of his time perfecting recipes in the kitchen of his mansion. Morgan lead his own team now in Chicago. He was closer to his family that way. Reid moved to Las Vegas to be closer to his mother. He had earned two more doctorate degrees. He was writing books and giving lectures on various subjects whenever he was needed. Since Emily, he found it increasingly difficult to continue working in the field. Garcia and Kevin had married now, and still lived in the DC area. Both still worked for the FBI as Technical Analysts, but even the always bubbly Penelope Garcia had lost some of her zest over the years.

"I know it's been years," Hotch said. "But don't you think they deserve to know? We all still keep in touch. We can't just do this and not tell them. Maybe they can help us? Morgan's got his own team. They can make it a case!" Hotch told her.

"I don't know. We need to keep it quiet for now, okay? Just… just let her get here and then we'll figure everything out," she said, pulling her blonde hair back into a hair tie, then resting her elbows on her knees and putting her head in her hands.

"This is.. I never thought… we have a child together. Emily and I have a child. What if Doyle gets to them first?" he asked, growing nauseous at the thought.

"That's what I'm afraid of," JJ mumbled into her hands, the sick feeling rising in her stomach as well.

Hotch began pacing again. He didn't know what else to do. The woman he loved and the child they had together that he'd never met were out there, threatened by a terrorist-turned-serial-killer, and all he could do was wait.


	5. Chapter 5

**I really can't tell you guys how happy you all make me when I get emails telling me I have another review or story alert. It absolutely makes my day! I've changed up the way I wanted this chapter to go at least three times but now I think I finally got it where I want it! Hopefully you all like it! **

**Disclaimer: I don't own CM.**

**-kbrewster**

It was only eleven in the morning, and Emily was already ready to call it quits for the day. Before she and Gabrielle had even left the house, Emily managed to spill hot coffee on herself. She quickly changed with just enough time to walk out the door and get Gabrielle to school on time and herself to work on time. Despite the fact they actually managed to leave on time, Gabrielle had left her math book on the counter so they had to turn around to retrieve it. They were both at least ten minutes late to their destinations that morning. She still felt like she smelled like coffee grains and while it was a nice smell to wake up to, it definitely didn't make a very appealing perfume.

Emily's boss was anything but on her side today, as he'd already screamed at her for things that were absolutely beyond her control. She had been working there longest out of all the employees, which normally always worked to her advantage, except when the boss was having a bad day. He took it all out on Emily, and normally she took it with a grain of salt. However, today she was about ready to give the man a piece of her mind. _I may not be a Special Agent anymore, but I'm pretty sure I've still got it. I could take him. _She thought bitterly to herself.

As if her day wasn't already turning out to be awful, a small child and his mother came into the store early that morning, and the child was one of the worst behaved children Emily had ever seen. He ran rampantly through the store knocking things off shelves, pulling clothes off hangers, and mismatching shoes. She was pretty sure she even saw him shoving various objects into a purse. Once the boy and his mother left the store, of course Emily was the one who was stuck on clean up duty. Alone. _Great. _She thought. _I didn't want a break today anyway. _

She was busy refolding some sweaters that had been thrown off a shelf in the midst of the attack of the temperamental toddler, when the very man she was ranting about in her head approached her.

"Madam Marie?" He said with a thick French accent. Though he could be somewhat of a jerk, he never seemed to forget his manners.

"Oui?" Emily replied in French.

"You have a phone call in the back. It sounded very urgent otherwise I would have made them call you back. I will cover for you here," he said.

She nodded, growing anxious. Her mind instantly went to Gabrielle. No one else would call her at work except for Gabrielle's school. She quickly walked to the back of the store to the "employees only" area. She took a deep breath and answered the phone that was waiting for her.

"Hello?" She asked, feeling like her heart would pound out of her chest.

"Emily?" She heard a very familiar voice ask, using a name she hadn't heard in ten years. She felt like she might pass out, so she gripped the countertop in one hand to maintain her balance. She felt tears well up in her eyes as she closed them, letting out a breath of air, putting a face to that voice. A voice she would never be able to mistake for anyone else's: Aaron Hotchner.

"A-Aaron?" she breathed, wondering if maybe she was in some kind of strange dream. Was the room actually spinning? She slowly sat down on the floor, not caring about anything else than the man on the other end of the line.

"God," he said. "It- it really is you. After all these years…"

"Yes," she choked out. "It's me… but how did you find me?" She said, feeling her stomach twist into a knot. There could be only two reasons he would be calling her: Doyle was dead, or he'd found her.

"Emily," he said, using her name again. "He found you. There was a note on my door this morning. You have to come back, Em. We need to protect you,"

Had she heard him right? Go back? To the States, back to him, back to _Emily_? Was that even an option? It had been ten years, how was she just supposed to show up in everyone's lives again? She felt her entire body shaking with fear, with anxiety, and maybe with a touch of excitement.

"Come back? Aaron, I don't… I don't know if I can do that," she said sadly. She wanted nothing more than to go back to DC, return to the way things were. But no matter how much she wanted it, she knew it would never be the same.

"Please," he begged. Emily had never heard him sound so desperate before. "Please, you have to come back. JJ told me… about the pregnancy. I can't let anything happen to you, not for real, and I can't let something happen to our child," he said.

_Oh God. _He knew about Gabrielle. Emily never wanted him to find out, not this way. She knew if Hotch had known about the baby, he would have worried himself sick for the rest of his life. Even if he would never meet her, Emily knew him too well to know just how good of a father he was.

"I'm so sorry," she said instantly. "I didn't want you to find out like this… I've wanted to tell you for so long," she heard her voice cracking with each word. "It's a girl, by the way," she said. "Her name is Gabrielle. I call her Gabby. God, Aaron she reminds me so much of you," she gushed quickly, knowing time was limited.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault," There was a brief pause, Emily imagined he was taking in what she told him. "A little girl, huh? Her name is beautiful. I'm sure she's beautiful. I can't wait to meet her, Em. We don't have much time to talk now, though. I want to know everything about her as soon as I can, but you need to get to the airport. There's a man waiting there for you. It's the same man who gave you your identity," he gave her a description: short light hair, most likely wearing a hat, and a grey jacket.

Then they had to hang up. Emily took all of five seconds to quickly stand from the floor, perhaps a bit too quickly as she noticed the room spinning again. But she didn't care, she pressed on, knowing she had to get to Gabrielle before something happened to her. She knew Gabrielle was who Doyle was after most. Emily had taken Declan away from him, so he was going to take Gabby from her. Not if she could help it, he wouldn't. She marched right up to her boss, already a story planted in her head.

"Monsieur," she started, picking at her fingernails for the first time in awhile, "It seems there has been a death in our extended family. I have to go get Gabby and leave for Italy right away," Emily lied smoothly, biting her lower lip.

Though her boss gave her an annoyed expression, he nodded for her to go on as he pushed his glasses back up on his nose.

She nodded her thanks and left the department store, fully aware that she would probably never go back. This was it, she had to face the past once again. She had hoped Doyle would believe the lie that was the death of Emily Prentiss. She should have known he would take it into serious investigation. After all, she'd pulled the same thing once before when she was Lauren Reynolds nearly twenty years ago.

She drove to Gabrielle's school located about ten minutes away from the store, growing shakier and more terrified each minute. She would explain things as much as she could to Gabrielle, leaving out unnecessary details. She would tell the short version, yes that was it. Only, what _was _the short version? She pondered.

She bit her thumbnail as she parked her car at the front of the school building. She mentally braced herself before going into the school building to sign Gabrielle out. Once inside, she talked to the woman at the front desk. She calmly explained that there had been a death in the extended family, and that they were going on a trip to Italy where the family lived so Gabrielle might be out for awhile. Emily was then asked to sign a few papers and was now waiting from Gabrielle to meet her in the office. She asked the woman who went to get Gabrielle to not say anything about the death, as Emily wanted to be the one to explain it to her.

Much quicker than Emily expected, the woman returned with Gabrielle at her side. Emily found herself blinking back the tears as the young girl approached her mother, a look of worry on her face.

Emily stood from the chair she had been sitting in, managing to greet Gabrielle with a smile. All the while Emily was fighting the urge to pick Gabrielle up and never let her go, she was terrified of something happening to her, and to see her walk through the door completely unharmed, unaware of what was about to happen made Emily want to save the moment, but she knew that just wasn't a possibility.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.

"What's wrong?" Gabby asked as she approached her mother, immediately sensing something was not right. She couldn't recall a time in the past when she had been picked up from school early unless she had been sick.

"I'll tell you out in the car, okay? Come on, we need to leave now," Emily said, taking Gabrielle's school bag in one hand, and Gabrielle's hand in the other.

Though Gabrielle had many questions, she followed her mother out to the car. Once inside, Emily tapped her fingers on the steering wheel. She checked and double checked that all the windows were up and the doors were locked. Whatever was about to be said, Gabrielle knew it was serious. For one, Emily had let her sit in the front seat, something that was quite a rare occurrence. Second, Gabrielle knew her mother, and she knew how she acted when she was worried. Normally, she only worried over silly things. Things like, was Gabrielle wearing her seatbelt? Did she have enough lunch money? Were people nice to her at school? Had she remembered to turn the dryer off that morning? But this, this was something Gabrielle had never seen before. To be honest, it scared her a little bit.

"Can you tell me what's wrong?" Gabrielle asked timidly.

She watched as Emily bit her bottom lip and glanced towards her, Gabrielle noted the tears in her eyes. Emily took a breath and finally she spoke.

"Gabby, you trust me, don't you?"

"Of course I do, you're my Mom," Gabrielle confirmed, still wondering what had her mother so worked up.

"Okay, well what I'm going to tell you right now might make you angry at me, or make you think differently of me, but I need you to understand something for me. You mean absolutely everything to me, you know that don't you? I would do absolutely anything to keep you safe and out of danger," Emily rambled, her voice shaking as she dutifully picked her nails again.

Gabrielle nodded, not knowing what she was supposed to say to any of this. Emily continued.

"You know how when you ask me about your Father, I tell you you're not old enough to understand, or that there are some things that aren't supposed to be talked about?" Gabrielle nodded again.

"Well, sweetie. It's time for you to know some things that I've kept from you for your own protection,"

Gabrielle didn't know what to say. Were they in trouble? Was her father a bad man? Why hadn't Emily told her this yesterday, or this morning when she wasn't at school? The young girl found herself picking at the hem of her skirt, not wanting to make eye contact with the woman sitting next to her.

"Look at me," Emily coaxed, lifting Gabrielle's face lightly so she was looking at her.

"Before you were born, there was a bad man that wanted to hurt me," Emily started to explain. "He wanted to hurt me so badly, that I had to do something to make him stop looking for me. I had to pretend like I had died. So I moved away from where I lived previously in America. After I had already pretended I was dead and changed my name, I found out I was pregnant with you. I couldn't tell your father, because the bad man might have found us. I wanted to keep him and all my other friends safe, and keep you safe. So I only told one person who helped me escape. Your dad still lives in America, sweetheart. He's there, and he loves you so much. I have always wanted you to meet, but it just wasn't possible with the bad man after me. But… I got a call at work this morning, from your dad. I haven't talked to him in ten years, but he told me… he told me that the bad guy had found us. So we have to go to America, okay? We're going to get on a plane and we're going to get away from here," by the time Emily finished her story, she was crying. Gabrielle was too stunned to cry. Her mom wasn't who Gabrielle thought she was. She understood everything Emily was trying to say, she just wasn't sure how to handle all the information. Were they going to get hurt? Would the bad man find them in America? Was she going to meet her dad when they got there?

As if Emily could read her mind, she wrapped an arm around Gabrielle's shoulders. "We're going to be okay, we're going to see your dad. He's going to keep us safe. We need to leave now so we can get on the plane, but please, ask me anything you're confused about. I want you to understand," Emily said softly.

Gabrielle wasn't sure what to ask first, so she shook her head. Emily finally put the car in drive, and drove away towards the airport. She knew there was absolutely no time for them to stop back at their apartment and get anything, they had to leave now.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.

The drive to the airport was silent, and Emily kept finding herself holding back tears. She was terrified that she had scared Gabrielle. Emily had spent enough years being scared and paranoid that she never wanted Gabrielle to have to fear for her life in the same way she had been doing for years now.

Emily wanted to talk to Gabrielle, but she figured she would save it for the plane ride. Emily wanted more details herself before she tried to explain anything else further to her surely confused daughter.

It felt like forever, but eventually they reached the airport. The two of them got out of the car and went inside. Emily held onto Gabrielle's hand tightly, in search of the man Hotch had described on the phone. She spotted him sitting at a table nearby. Quickly she led Gabrielle over to him and sat down in the seat across from him, sitting Gabrielle in her lap.

"Hi," he greeted.

"Hello," she returned the greeting.

"I'm sorry we're not meeting under more positive circumstances," he said, his tone hushed.

"I know," Emily agreed. "What do we do?"

"We're taking a jet back to DC. It'll be the three of us. Aaron Hotchner and Jennifer Jareau will meet us at the airport, and then they want to take you and the girl to Aaron's house," the man confided.

"Gabrielle," Emily said suddenly. "That's her name. Gabby," Using the term "the girl" felt incredibly too impersonal for Emily.

The man nodded. "You and Gabby will go to Aaron's. Then we'll think of another plan,"

"Okay," Emily confirmed.

The three of them rose from the table and made their way to the jet that would take them back to the States.

Emily wasn't sure what she was feeling. She was scared that Doyle would follow them, no doubt. She was worried about Gabby. But she found herself actually looking forward to seeing Hotch and JJ again… after all this time. The emotions swelled up in Emily as they boarded the jet. She sat Gabrielle next to her, relaxing as the girl rested her head on her mother's shoulder. _This will be the end of it all. _Emily thought, a wave of hope washing over her.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.

Ian Doyle was on his way back to DC for the first time in ten years. Just as he suspected, Emily was being whisked back to her former town of residence. He was going to be there as well, finally ready to take his revenge on the woman his anger had been directed at for so long.

He boarded his plane, annoyed at everyone else around him. He didn't care about anything else except getting to where he wanted to be. He struggled to ignore those around him, his thoughts drifting from Emily, to Lauren, and eventually to Declan.

Declan would be a grown man by now at the age of 22. Doyle had spent time looking for Declan after Emily admitted he was still alive, but with no luck. He stopped looking for Declan and focused all his attention on finding Emily, and that focus only grew stronger when he confirmed she was still alive.

Doyle was never one to get emotional, that just wasn't something a former terrorist needed a track record for, but every time he thought about the past, he wanted to get upset. He wanted to cry, even. When Lauren was in his life, he was truly happy. He knew deep down what he did for a living was wrong, but that never stopped him. He wasn't harming himself or anyone he truly cared about, so why should it matter? That had always been his mentality. As long as he was able to provide for his son, he didn't see anything wrong with his profession.

All he had asked was for Lauren to marry him. All he wanted her to do was become a permanent part of his life, and raise his son to be like him. He had always pictured his wedding with Lauren, how happy they would be. Maybe they would even have another child to give Declan a sibling in the future. All his hopes and dreams came crashing down on him, when he learned that Lauren Reynolds wasn't actually Lauren Reynolds. She was never for him, only against him. She'd never truly loved him because technically she'd never existed. To top it all off, he thought his only son was dead. The son he worked so hard to keep alive to be brought into the world.

Each time he replayed the scenarios over in his head, he felt his blood boil. He wanted his revenge on Emily Prentiss and he wanted it as soon as possible, and he didn't care who else he had to harm to get it. Anxiously, he tried to calm his nerves as he sat back in his seat. It was only a matter of time now.


	6. Chapter 6

**Hi guys! Once again, thank you all so much for your kind words on this story. It really motivates me to get the next chapter up quickly! Even if you're just reading and not reviewing (which is fine!) then just know I appreciate all of you so much. This chapter ended up nearing 8 pages in length because I legitimately could **_**not **_**stop writing! I had every intention of getting the first meeting between Gabby and Hotch/the reunion in this chapter but it would've been way too long. I knew I read a review about the meeting, but I **_**promise **_**you guys it'll be next chapter for sure! I'll stop rambling now so you can read haha. Oh and also this chapter does drop an f-bomb in case that offends anybody, you can be on the lookout for it. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM or any of its characters!**

Emily, Gabby, and the man who had come to get them, whose name Emily discovered, was Anthony Fisher, were on their way to DC. The flight would take nearly 7 hours, and in that time Emily hoped Gabrielle would ask her as many questions as she needed to, to understand exactly what was happening.

Just as Emily was about to speak up, Gabrielle lifted her head from her mother's shoulder and looked at her.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked quietly.

"Of course you can," Emily said, brushing some of the child's hair back behind her ears.

"Okay, well… is that bad man going to come find us in America?" Gabrielle asked.

Emily sucked in a breath, how was she supposed to answer this question? She had no idea. She had a slight feeling that he might, that maybe he was waiting for them to come back. "I don't know, sweetheart," Emily said honestly. "But I do know that whatever does happen, I won't let anything bad happen to you, okay? Neither will your dad," Emily confirmed.

"But I'm not worried about me!" Gabrielle said louder than she'd spoken before. "I'm worried about _you_," she said, Emily could see the tears threatening to fall from her eyes. She had to look away before she too started to cry.

"You said he was after you," Gabrielle continued. "What if he takes you away and I never see you again? Why is he after you anyway, what did you ever do? You're not a bad person!" Gabrielle said, tears falling freely now.

Emily bit her lip, she refused to cry in front of Gabrielle. She would save all her tears for a later date. Instead, she pushed her own hair out of her face and pulled Gabrielle into her lap.

"I'm going to do everything I can to make sure nothing happens to me, okay? And, he's mad at me. You know how I told you I had to pretend like I was dead?" Emily asked, Gabrielle nodded. "Well, my name used to be Emily Prentiss. I worked for the FBI. I helped catch bad guys. But before I joined the FBI, I had another job for something called Interpol. I helped catch bad guys there, too. But I got assigned a case where I had to go undercover as someone else. I had to become good friends with this man to help the people I worked with catch him. So I did, and I had to trick him in all kinds of ways to get him to trust me. Then, I sent his son away so he wouldn't have to grow up to be a bad guy like his daddy wanted him to be. When he found out I lied to him, he wanted to hurt me. So I pretended like I was dead, like I said. And then I had you, my little miracle," Emily said. It pained her to have to disclose this information with her young daughter. She kept the description of her job as Lauren Reynolds as vague as possible, wanting Gabrielle to hang onto as much innocence as possible.

Gabrielle looked at her mother again, her eyebrows scrunched together as she processed the information. _God she looks so much like him. _Emily thought.

"So he's mad at you because he thought you were his friend, but he was bad, so you told on him? And then you made his son leave because his dad was bad, right?" Gabrielle asked, using her own terminology for the story Emily had told her.

Emily nodded. "Yes, that's it. I guess he's still really mad at me."

Gabrielle still didn't look very comforted. So, Emily decided to keep the conversation going.

"Is there anything else, honey?"

"I'm… I'm allowed to be excited about meeting my dad, right?" Gabrielle asked, looking worried.

Emily smiled a real smile for the first time since she'd discovered she and Gabrielle were in danger.

"Of course you are," Emily said. Gabrielle leaned farther back into Emily.

"Will you tell me stories about him? So I know what to expect?" Gabrielle asked quietly, as if she was afraid of the answer.

"I'll tell you anything you want to know," Emily said, already thinking of stories to share with Gabrielle about her father. Stories she'd always wanted to tell her, but could never bring up.

"Okay," Gabrielle said, relaxing a little. "What does he look like?" Gabrielle asked, starting off with the basic question.

Emily described his facial features in detail, at least the way she remembered them ten years ago. She told Gabrielle of his dark hair, much like Gabrielle's own. She spoke of his brown eyes, his dimples when he smiled. The very dimples Gabrielle had when she smiled. Emily laughed as she told Gabrielle of the ever famous "Hotch glare" known around the BAU, and that when Gabrielle was trying to prove a point, she wore the very same expression.

She then went on to explain that everyone thought Hotch was a serious man who never knew how to laugh. But Emily saw the side of him that not many people got to see. She got to see the fun-loving, non-professional side of Aaron Hotchner. She heard his laugh. His real laugh. The kind of laugh that came from deep inside his belly, the kind of laugh that caused tears. Emily had always found it quite endearing, even when he was laughing at her.

"Why did he laugh at you?" Gabrielle questioned, interested in hearing this story.

Emily laughed softly, and began the story that took place eleven years ago…

**December 2010**

It had been two months since the first time Hotch and Emily kissed. It had been a month and a half since they declared themselves "official." Neither of them could have possibly been more happy with the way things had panned out. They'd told the team, but held off on telling Strauss until the beginning of the new year. Jack was happy, because he got to see Emily all the time, and Emily had to admit she certainly loved seeing the sandy haired boy.

However today, Hotch and Emily had Hotch's apartment all to themselves. It was Sunday, and Jack had spent the previous night with Jessica. He rarely stayed over night with Jessica on the weekends, but Jack had actually requested to spend Saturday night with her, because it was supposed to rain that night, and he had declared long ago that rainy days were the best at Jessica's. Jessica made a fort out of dining room chairs and blankets, filling the homemade fort with fluffy pillows, blankets and the like. She brought an old TV down from her attic, and plugged that up and sat it in the fort too. They watched movies in the fort for hours, and then Jessica made him chocolate chip cookies. If Jack got to spend the night, Jessica let him sleep in the fort. So, when the young boy had heard of the high chance of rain, he practically begged Hotch to let him stay.

Emily had come over the previous night, the two of them stayed awake into the early morning acting like two teenage girls at a sleepover. They talked, they watched movies, Hotch made a pizza, and they'd even played poker a couple of times.

By now, it was well into the afternoon and neither of them had yet to muster up the energy to get out of bed.

"Ugh," Emily groaned, stretching her tired muscles. "We're too old to stay up that late," she commented.

"Who are you calling old?" Hotch asked, taking his hand in hers, playing with her fingers.

"Shut up," she said playfully, breaking free of his grasp and rolling over so they were no longer facing each other.

"Come back here," Hotch said, pulling her towards him by her shoulder, leaning down to kiss her.

"No, no, no, no," Emily said quickly, burying her face into the comforter. "Neither of us have gotten out of bed yet, which means neither of us have brushed our teeth, which means we don't kiss until that happens!" She said into the fabric, though it sounded more like a series of mumbles to Hotch.

"What was that?" Hotch asked, sliding the covers away from her face, placing his hand on her chin.

"Kiss you, even though we haven't brushed our teeth?" he said. "Okay," and he did just that, though Emily persisted by trying to squirm away with no success.

"God," she complained as she sat up when they broke apart. "I don't mind kissing you but that is just gross. Really, really gross," she muttered to herself as she finally got out of bed for the first time that day to brush her teeth. Hotch chuckled at her, and followed her into the bathroom to do the very same thing.

Once they'd finished that task, Hotch glanced at the clock. "I need to go pick up Jack soon. I want a little bit of time with him before the weekend ends," Hotch told her.

Though she was slightly disappointed their lazy day had to end, she understood and nodded her head. "At least let me make you lunch or something before you go," she told him.

"You? Cooking? I didn't know you could do that," He joked.

"Hey! We all made perfectly good spaghetti, remember?" she said, crossing her arms. "Plus, you made pizza last night. It's only fair," she added.

"But you were helping Jack. I gave you the easy job," he smirked at her.

"Okay, you're on. It doesn't take too long to make spaghetti. I'll bet you right now that I can make the best spaghetti you've ever eaten in your life,"

Hotch raised an eyebrow at her. "What're we betting for? Money? Paying on the next date? Sexual favors?" he wiggled his eyebrows at the last suggestion.

Emily snorted. "Yeah, uh-huh. That last one," she said sarcastically, smacking him lightly on the arm. "No! Loser has to pay on the next date," she confirmed. "_And," _she added. "Winner gets to pick the place," she added slyly.

"Okay, you're on, Prentiss," he said, and the two shook hands.

Emily went straight to the kitchen, retrieving all the necessary items she would need for the dish. She got out the noodles, spaghetti sauce, and the various vegetables she planned to add to the tomato sauce for flavor. She filled the pot with water, and set it to boil. As the water bubbled up at the heat, she set out the other ingredients, ready to start on the sauce. She poured the tomato flavored sauce into a separate pot.

Quickly, Emily realized her first mistake. She set the burner too high, and water began boiling out of the pot rapidly.

"Damn it," she muttered, quickly picking the pot up and setting it aside, burning her hand on the overflowing water as she did so. She cursed again at the pain, turning the burner down a few notches and running her hand under cold water from the faucet.

She heard Hotch trying to contain laughter from the chair he sat at behind her.

"Not a word from you, Mister," she said seriously, wiping her hand on a towel and resuming her task. She set the pot back on the burner after it cooled a bit, pleased to see that no water decided to leave the pot.

Emily's second mistake had been handling the knife to cute up vegetables. As the spaghetti noodles boiled, she started the sauce. She cut up the tomatoes and peppers without a hitch. Proud of herself, she started on cutting up the mushrooms. She distracted herself for one second to glance over at Hotch to see if he was still watching her, and in that second, she managed to cut the tip of her index finger instead of the mushroom.

"_Shit,_" she cursed loudly, quickly dropping the knife to the counter, bringing her hand to the infected finger. She inspected it, it wasn't bad. It wasn't even bleeding too badly, but it hurt. She got a paper towel from the rack and put it over the finger, applying pressure to the wound.

Hotch was laughing at her, a little louder than the previous time.

"Shut your mouth and fix it!" she demanded, though they both knew she was kidding.

He stood from the chair and walked over to her. He took the hand with the wounded finger in his hands and inspected it. "Looks like you'll live," he confirmed, leaving her in the kitchen long enough to retrieve the First-Aid kit from the bathroom.

He came back and bandaged her all up, laughing the entire time he did so.

"I hate you," she told him, pulling her now nicely bandaged finger away from his grasp.

"That's a lie,"

"No, it's not. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a meal to finish,"

"You sure you can handle it?" he asked.

"Ha, ha, very funny," she said, picking up the knife she had been using before her little incident. She thoroughly cleaned it and turned to start finishing the job she'd started.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Hotch said, grabbing her arm. "No, you're not using this anymore,"

"I am winning this damn bet, Aaron Hotchner. Let me go," she said, smiling wildly at him.

"No," he said, keeping his hold on her arm.

She tried her jerk away slowly, but instead she ended up slipping a bit on some water on the floor. Hotch had the knife in his hands as Emily let it go to grasp the counter top to break her fall. She succeeded in not falling, but instead, she knocked the already chopped tomatoes and peppers fall in the floor.

"You have got to be fucking _kidding me_," Emily groaned.

"Well," Hotch said, setting the knife in the sink. "You've still got plain sauce and noodles!"

Emily sighed, and went over to the pot that housed the boiling noodles. She turned the burner off and went to test the noodles out, soon discovering they were well over cooked. They were mushy and disgusting.

"Of course," Emily rolled her eyes.

"Okay… we still have sauce," Hotch said, laughing.

"Do we?" Emily said, ripping the pot up that had the sauce in it. She turned the pot over, expecting it all to come out on the floor, but it was stuck. It, too, had cooked too long and was stuck to the pain.

"Ugh!" Emily cried, throwing the pot into the sink. "You win, I surrender," she said in defeat.

Instead of giving her a verbal answer, he glanced around the kitchen. She had managed to make a bigger mess than Jack had ever made. He laughed, like she'd only heard a handful of times. This was the first time that laugh was directed at her, specifically. She should have been angry at him for laughing at her in her distraught state, but instead she laughed too. They laughed like they hadn't laughed in ages. They laughed until they were grabbing at their stomachs, until tears threatened to fall, until they'd laughed for so long they barely remembered what had started the whole thing.

"Okay, we'll just… clean this up and we'll go get something on the way to Jessica's to pick up Jack," Hotch said in between outbreaks, gasping for air as he did so.

Emily, also trying to catch her breath, just nodded in response. She was quite certain that in that moment, she truly fell in love with Aaron Hotchner. Sure, she'd believed it to be true. She'd never felt the way she felt about him about anyone else before. But looking around, seeing the mess she'd make of his kitchen, seeing him laugh like nobody else got to see him laugh, she knew. This was the man she'd waited for her whole life, though she'd never admit it. She might be a secret hopeless romantic on the inside, but she had too much pride to let just anyone know that. So instead of kissing him, or telling him how much she loved him like one might see in a romance movie, she smacked him on the arm and hurriedly began picking up the scattered chopped vegetables on the floor.

"I'll do this, you clean that God awful sauce pot," she said, flashing him a smile.

**March 2021**

By the time Emily had finished the story, she found herself laughing at the memory. Gabrielle was laughing at the images of her mother failing her cooking task. The story even had Anthony laughing from a few seats away.

When the laughter died down, Gabrielle spoke up. "I can't believe you messed up _spaghetti! _I mean come on, Mom! That's the easiest thing ever!" Gabrielle said matter-of-factly.

"I know! I know!" Emily agreed. While she still wasn't the greatest cook, she had managed to brush up on her skills a bit, so she and Gabrielle wouldn't starve.

They were quiet for a minute, when Gabrielle spoke up again.

"Mama, do you think… do you think he'll like me?" she asked softly.

"Oh, Gabby," Emily breathed. "I know he's going to love you. He already loves you so much, sweetie. I told him about you very briefly when we spoke earlier. He's so excited to meet you," Emily said, smiling happily.

Gabrielle returned the smile. "Really?"

"Really," Emily confirmed.

"You said he has a son, Jack, right? Does that make him my brother?" Gabrielle questioned.

"You and Jack have different mothers, so you're half-siblings, but yes. He's your big brother," Emily said. She couldn't believe she was talking about Jack with Gabrielle. As she watched Gabrielle grow and change from an infant to the child she was now, she'd always thought Jack would have loved her, always knew they would have gotten along wonderfully. Now Gabrielle was about to meet him. She shook her head in disbelief.

"Okay, I only have one more question," Gabrielle stated.

"Shoot, Emily said.

"Are we there yet?"

Emily laughed at the child, at how typical a question it was for a child to ask.

"No, not yet _ma chere,_ we still have awhile to go. You'll be tired when we get there from the time change, why don't you try to take a little nap if you're all questioned out?"

"Kay," Gabrielle readily agreed, sitting back into the seat next to her mother, using Emily's shoulder for a pillow. Using her free arm, she lightly placed her jacket over Gabrielle's small form. She laid her head back into the seat, feeling waves of emotions wash over her. She was still terrified of Doyle, she was scared of somehow being separated from Gabrielle. But, her heart swelled with joy just thinking about Hotch meeting their daughter. She was anxious to land back in DC, hoping they could all have time to be a family before the planning and preparing for Doyle began.

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Hotch was busy preparing himself for the arrival of Emily and Gabrielle. He had made sure the house was spotless. He made sure he had a room ready for Gabby. He was about to check the house over for any sign of imperfection, when JJ informed him they needed to head to the airport.

Jack had come home from his time out with his soccer team, and Hotch had had to break the news to his son. He sat with him on the couch and told him the entire story.

"You mean- this _entire _time, you let me believe she was dead? You weren't ever going to tell me that you _lied?" _Jack had questioned harshly.

"I would have told you, Jack. I just… I don't know when I would have told you," he said honestly. Telling him had been on Hotch's mind for awhile, but he wasn't sure if it was for the best.

"Whatever, Dad," Jack said, standing from the table. "And I can't believe you're letting them come here, with that crazy guy after her! What if something happens to you? Or me? What then, Dad? Have you even _considered _that?"

Hotch had considered that. But what other choice did they have? This would all end soon, he was sure. Doyle wouldn't win this time.

"Jack," Hotch said calmly. "Everything's going to be fine, Buddy. I promise. You just need to trust me,"

Jack rolled his eyes, and stormed off to his room. Hotch hadn't seen him since.

Now that he and JJ had to leave to pick up Emily and Gabrielle, Hotch faced a tough decision. Jack was seventeen, he was more than capable of staying home alone for a couple of hours. But with this Doyle scare, he wasn't sure leaving his teenage son home alone was the best choice right now.

So, he knocked on Jack's door, where he was granted permission to enter with a grunt.

"JJ and I are going to go pick up Em and Gabby. I'd appreciate it if you came with us, please."

'Why?" Jack scoffed, taking one of the ear buds he had in his ears out, leaving the other where it was.

"Because," Hotch said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I don't feel comfortable leaving you here alone right now. Okay? Can you please cooperate with me?" he asked.

Though Jack rolled his eyes and muttered something under his breath, Jack agreed and marched out of his room to ride along with JJ, and Hotch to the airport.

He hoped, as he followed Jack out to the car that he was right about everything being fine. He also hoped Jack would warm up to the idea of seeing Emily again, and meeting his little sister. Jack had every right to be angry and confused, Hotch knew, but he just hoped the initial reuniting would go smoothly.

So, the three of them made their way to the airport. JJ had called Will on the way to check up on Henry, as she had left Henry with his father while she dealt with the situation. Once she confirmed they were both okay, she relaxed a little more into her seat.

"Are you excited?" JJ asked Hotch, who was driving.

"I am," Hotch confirmed. "It's a bit surreal, actually," he told her.

"I know," JJ agreed. "I wish they weren't in danger still, but it'll be good to see Em again, and meet your guys' little girl." she said, then to Jack, "What about you?

"Whatever," Jack responded, turning towards the window to avoid eye contact as he popped the ear buds to his iPod back into his ears.

Hotch sighed. Reuniting with Emily and their daughter might be a bit more difficult than he'd thought initially, but he was determined to make the best of it while he could, not knowing what was awaiting them in their immediate future.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hi! I feel like this one took me forever to get posted! Sorry, I kept changing my mind with how I wanted it to go, but I think I'm finally satisfied with it! Thanks as always for all your kind reviews, they're a great motivator! I started back my new classes this week, or I would have had this up sooner. It seems like it's gonna be a relatively easy semester, so hopefully I won't have to have any long gaps between updates for school work. Hope you guys enjoy this one! I really enjoyed writing it!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Criminal Minds. **

_Hotch, Emily, Gabrielle, and Jack were all sitting on the couch in a house Emily wasn't familiar with. Though her surroundings were unfamiliar, she felt comfortable. Gabby was in Hotch's lap, and Emily was seated next to him. Gabby wasn't a nine year old girl, instead she was a baby, no more than 8 or 9 months old. Jack was sitting on the opposite side of Hotch. He should have been a teenager now, but he was still the same, sweet seven year old boy Emily had known ten years ago. Jack was smiling a toothless grin, as he'd lost some of his baby teeth as he helped Hotch give Gabby her bottle. _

_Somewhere deep in Emily's conscious mind, she was aware that this was a dream. There was no Ian Doyle. There was no danger. She never had to fake her death. She and Hotch were together; they were a family. Hotch looked over at her, smiling that famous smile, and leaned in for a kiss. When Emily pulled away an opened her eyes, she was horrified at the sight before her. _

_Aaron Hotchner no longer sat by her side, but instead, a very angry looking Ian Doyle. She gasped and reached for baby Gabby, but she was too late. Ian had her in his arms and stood with her in one hand, pushing Emily back down on the couch with the other. _

"_Hello, Love," he grinned evilly. _

"_Ian," her voice cracked. "What are you- no!" she said as he turned, placing Gabby in a bassinet located in the room. By now Emily had Jack sitting in her lap, holding him closely and rocking him back and forth. _

"_Give me the boy," Ian said firmly. _

"_Where's Aaron?" she asked. _

"Aaron _is gone," he spat his name. _

"_He was just here! Where did he go?" she demanded. Though she was terrified, she wasn't about to let it show. _

"_I told you, he's gone. You took my son from me, so I am taking yours from you," _

"_No!" she screamed as he took Jack from her arms. He began crying out for her, but she couldn't move. She tried and tried to move, but she couldn't. None of her muscles were working. She was stuck there. Ian Doyle had both of her children, and Hotch was nowhere in sight. _

Emily awoke to a slight shake of her shoulder. Opening her eyes wuickly, she saw Anthony Fisher standing in front of her.

"We're landing in ten minutes," he informed her. Emily looked around wildly. She was on a plane. She was going back to DC, she reminded herself. Doyle didn't have her, he didn't have Gabby, and he didn't have anyone she loved. She felt herself trying to catch her breath.

"Are you okay?" Anthony asked.

Emily nodded. "I'm fine, thank you," she said. Anthony gave her a look, but nodded and turned to go back to his seat.

Emily glanced to her left, where Gabrielle was still sleeping peacefully, and instantly she felt calmer. She wished she didn't have to wake the young girl up, that she could let her sleep until she took care of Doyle, and then she could wake up and everything would be fine, but she knew that wasn't a possibility. She did however, wait a few more moments to allow herself to calm down from the dream she had been having.

She sighed slowly, reaching out to brush her fingers through Gabrielle's hair. She stirred slightly, but remained sleeping. Emily smiled, Gabrielle could sleep through almost anything. While many children woke up scared during a thunderstorm, little Gabby always slept through the whole thing.

"Did you hear that storm last night?" Emily would ask the next morning, to which Gabrielle would reply: "What storm?"

Continuing to run her fingers through Gabrielle's hair, Emily spoke loud enough to wake the child, but kept an even, calming tone: "Gabby, wake up sweetheart,"

Gabrielle stirred again, but this time her eyes fluttered open. "Are we there?" she asked, sitting up and rubbing her eyes sleepily.

"We're landing in a few minutes," Emily confirmed.

Gabrielle instantly looked more awake, and sat up a little straighter in the seat. "He's meeting us there, right?" she asked, referring to Hotch.

"Yes," Emily smiled. "He'll be at the airport, along with JJ. She used to be one of my best friends," Emily told her quietly.

"Okay," Gabrielle said.

"Are you excited?" Emily asked. This would be a perfect meeting, if only they weren't in danger.

"Yeah," Gabrielle confirmed. "I'm kind of nervous too… but I guess that's normal, right?"

Emily nodded. "Very normal, sweetie."

Minutes later, the jet was descending, and they had finally landed on American soil. Emily looked out the window. It was the middle of the afternoon here, which felt strange since it had only been 11AM in France when Emily got the call from Hotch.

Emily stood from her seat when she got the OK, reaching her hand out for Gabrielle to take. Gabrielle took it and stood also, and the two of them slowly followed Anthony out of the jet. They walked off the runway, into the airport where they were greeted by security guards that led them all to the lobby. Emily looked around frantically, partly for Hotch and JJ, and partly for Doyle or anyone who seemed suspicious, anyone who could be a threat.

Then she saw him, sitting at a table near an exit. There was Hotch, who looked older, yet still the same. His hair was starting to go grey. She couldn't believe he was standing just a few hundred feet away. He was sitting alone, and Emily wondered where JJ was.

Emily glanced down at Gabrielle. Her eyes were wide, not with only fear or only excitement, but a bit of both. She squeezed her daughter's hand in reassurance. Gabrielle looked up at Emily.

"This is it, huh?"

"This is it," Emily confirmed.

They reached the table, after what felt like the longest walk in Emily's life. Hotch was standing now, smiling happily.

Emily let go of Gabrielle's hand, who then grabbed onto her mother's shirt instead. Emily went to Hotch, and almost fell into his open arms. She was crying, and for the first time in a long time, she didn't try to stop the tears.

"I missed you so much, Aaron" she whispered into his shirt her face was buried in. She was gripping the fabric in her hands, hanging on tightly as if she were afraid he would suddenly be taken away from her.

"I missed you, Em. More than you'll ever know," he said, his arms wrapped tightly around the woman in his arms. He rubbed a hand up and down her back, reminding her that he wasn't going anywhere.

"I haven't been called that in years," she said, the once common nickname making her stomach flutter in excitement.

"You have an accent now," he noted quietly. She laughed softly.

"It's become second nature," she said. "I'm sure it will wear off the longer I spend with you,"

"And your hair," he commented, touching the ends that were now well down the middle of her back as he continued to hold her. "It's so long since the last time I saw you, and you've grown your bangs out,"

She smiled again. "It seems I haven't had much time to get it cut lately,"

"Don't cut it," he said, kissing the top of her head lightly. "It's beautiful, you're beautiful. God, Em. I love you so much," he said. Though she couldn't see his face, she knew there were tears in his eyes.

They continued to stand like that for a little longer, neither of them wanting to break the embrace. Emily was the one to pull away first, finally looking him in the eyes. She smiled, tilting her head to the side as she reached up to wipe away the tears that had fallen down his cheeks. Before saying another word, their lips met in one of the most passionate kisses either of them had ever experienced. The kind that only came to an end to take time to breathe. They broke apart, remembering they still weren't safe.

"There's somebody you need to meet," she said, referring to Gabrielle who was standing behind Emily, still clinging to the tail of her mother's shirt. Emily took Gabrielle's hand in hers as the former let go of the fabric she had been so desperately grasping, and gently pulled the girl in front of her. Gabrielle was looking down at her feet, biting her bottom lip intensely, a habit she no doubt got from Emily.

Hotch sat in the chair he had been sitting in previously, and pulled it up closer to Gabrielle. He was now just about eye level with her, as he slouched a little in the seat. He smiled. She was absolutely beautiful. He couldn't believe how much she looked like Emily. She looked nervous, wearing the same look her mother often wore when she felt the same. Hotch didn't want to scare her, so he looked up at Emily, who simply nodded, understanding Hotch's feelings though neither of them spoke a word. He watched as Emily crouched down, so that all three of them were on the same level. She wrapped an arm around Gabrielle, giving the girl a reassuring squeeze.

"Gabby," she said softly, feeling more tears brim in her deep brown eyes. "This is your Dad,"

Gabrielle finally looked up, and looked from Emily to Hotch and back again. She stepped out of Emily's embrace and sat herself in Hotch's lap, throwing her arms around his neck.

She pulled away and said as seriously as she could: "Mama's right, you know. I do look like you!" she said happily.

"I think you look just like your Mama," Hotch told her, brushing her dark hair behind her ears.

"I waited so long to meet you," Gabrielle said.

"And I've been waiting to meet you, Gabby," Hotch said. He already loved this little girl.

"What should I call you?" Gabby asked him.

"You can call me whatever you feel comfortable calling me, sweetie." He informed her. He, of course, hoped that someday she would feel comfortable enough around him to call him "dad" or some form of the word at least.

"Mama says your name is Aaron, and that before, people called you Hotch,"

"Yes, that's right," he confirmed.

"But… am I allowed to call you Daddy?" she hesitated, her voice barely audible.

Hotch smiled, and hugged Gabrielle, kissing the top of her head. "I'd really like that, only if it's okay with you, of course,"

"I wanted to meet you for my whole life!" Gabrielle said again. "But when I asked about you, Mama always changed the subject. I never understood why, but now I do. There's a bad man after her. She said you would keep us safe though. That's true, right? You won't let him hurt her, will you?" She asked, her forehead creasing with worry.

"I'm going to keep you both safe," Hotch said.

"Okay," Gabrielle smiled.

Emily sat in awe of the scene before her. Never had she seen Gabrielle take to someone so quickly. She had always been a shy child for as far back as Emily could remember. It took her time to warm up to new people, but she had just completely opened herself up to Hotch. Emily knew that would happen in time, but she's never expected to see it happen almost instantly. Despite the worry she still felt, she felt her heart warming.

"Emily, she's absolutely beautiful," Hotch said sincerely. He couldn't believe the little girl sitting in his lap was _their _daughter.

"She is," Emily agreed, standing up straight now, one hand on Hotch's shoulder and one hand on Gabrielle's, the three of them united as one family for the first time.

"Hey, where's JJ?" Emily asked.

"She and Jack are out in the car,"

"Oh…" Emily said.

"He's not… happy, about any of this. He's angry with me because I never told him you were still alive. So he's acting… well, like a typical teenager. I don't want you or Gabby to take anything personally, okay? Have you told her about Jack?" Hotch asked her.

"Briefly," Emily informed him.

"I hate to interrupt, but we should really get you guys back to Aaron's house," Anthony said suddenly.

"Okay," Emily agreed. "We can talk more there," she said as Hotch stood, picking Gabrielle up as he did so, making her laugh.

"Nobody's picked me up in forever! Mama says I'm getting too big for that now," Gabrielle said happily.

"I think we can make an exception now," Emily said, as the three of them and Anthony walked out to Hotch's car where JJ was sitting in the passenger's seat, and Jack in the back.

Upon seeing them, JJ smiled and waved frantically, opening the car door and running to Emily, nearly knocking her over as she hugged her.

"Emily!" she said happily. "Good God, it's so good to see you! Look at you! And your hair! God, do you age backwards or something? There's not way you're fif-"

"Hey!" Emily said, lightly smacking JJ's arm. "I just got back and you're already commenting on my age?"

The two of them laughed, and hugged again.

"It seriously is good to see you, Em," JJ said.

"It's good to see you too, Jayje," Emily replied. JJ looked exactly the same. Her hair a bit shorter than Emily had remembered, but still just as blonde as it had always been. "I wish the circumstances were a bit different,"

"I know," JJ agreed.

"Well," Anthony said. "I'll be around, Aaron has my number. If there's _anything _at all I can do to help, call, okay? Good luck," he said. They all expressed their thanks to him, and he left them alone.

"Let's get back to my place. JJ, do you care to drive us home? I'll sit in the back with the moody teen and Gabby," he offered, afraid of Jack attitude making the car ride home more tense than it needed to be.

"Okay, that's fine. Em, looks like you're in front with me,"

Everyone took their places in the car: JJ at the wheel, Emily next to her, Jack near the window behind Emily, Hotch in the middle seat, and Gabrielle next to the other window. Jack glared out the window, not speaking to or acknowledging anyone the entire way home. Emily and JJ were talking too fast for anyone else to get a word in edgewise, anyway. It was as if they were trying to fit ten years worth of conversation into the short drive back to Hotch's house.

Finally, they arrived at their destination. Jack nearly jumped out of the car before JJ had even turned the key all the way.

"Jack, wait," Hotch said, also getting out of the car. "Let me go in first, make sure no one else is in there,"

Jack huffed and rolled his eyes and spoke for the first time. "Really, Dad? Is that how it's going to be from now on? You're gonna go all FBI on me and "clear" the house every time I want to set foot in it?"

"Jack, please," Hotch begged. "Just wait here… and be nice!" he ordered as he went into the house alone, checking for any unwanted guests.

By now, the other three had climbed out of the car. Emily looked at JJ after Jack's miniature outburst, and Gabrielle grabbed onto Emily's hand. As they waited for Hotch to return, Emily couldn't help but stare at Jack. The last time she'd seen him, he'd just turned seven. He had lost one of his two front teeth, and she remembered how excited he had been about it. She remembered all the times he'd drawn her pictures that she'd stuck on her refrigerator back in her apartment. She recalled all the times they had spent together, all the night he had requested she come tuck him in. Now to look at him and see him so bitter and angry, Emily felt out of place. It made her feel slightly uncomfortable, as she sifted her weight from one foot to the other, wishing Hotch would hurry back and allow them inside.

She noticed Jack glaring back at her, and quickly Emily put her focus on something else. He Didn't say a word to her, but she could feel him still glaring at her.

"Okay," she heard Hotch call from the door. "There's nobody here. Everything's fine," he confirmed. Jack nearly ran up the steps and into the house, as if he couldn't get away quickly enough. Emily took a breath and led Gabrielle inside as well, with JJ right behind them.

"This is your house?" Gabrielle asked as they went in.

"It's yours now too," Hotch reminded her.

"_Wow,"_ Gabrielle said excitedly. "It's so much bigger than our apartment in Paris!"

Emily laughed. "Much bigger,"

"Would you like to watch something on TV while your mother and I talk?" Hotch suggested. They had many things to discuss, and he knew neither he nor Emily wanted the girl to hear most of it.

Gabrielle looked hesitant at first, as if she didn't like the idea of being out of her parent's sight.

"I'll watch it with you," JJ volunteered.

"Okay," Gabrielle finally agreed.

_Thank you. _Hotch mouthed to JJ, who nodded in response as she led Gabrielle over to the couch, setting out the DVD's she felt might be appropriate for the girl to watch.

Hotch and Emily went into the kitchen, sitting down at the counter where Hotch fixed them both something to drink.

"Thank you," Emily said.

"Don't worry about it," he replied. "God, I still can't believe you're here, I my kitchen. Our daughter is in the other room watching TV. I just- I never thought I would see you again, Emily. I thought about you everyday… I visited your- your grave. You must think I'm crazy…" he trailed off.

"No, no, not at all!" Emily told him honestly. "I think that's sweet, actually. I thought about you all the time. Every single time Gabby had a "first" for something, I asked myself how I was going to raise her all by myself. When she took her first steps, I realized I would have to chase her around the apartment all alone. When her first word was "Mama," I realized I couldn't teach her the word "Daddy." When she started to school, when she learned to ride a bike, when she started piano… I wanted you there. For all of it. I'm so sorry you had to miss so much," she said, biting her lip, not allowing herself to get emotional, even though all she wanted to do was cry and have him hold her in his strong arms.

"Don't apologize. None of this is your fault,"

"I feel like it is," she said, putting her head in her hands. "I feel like maybe I could have done more… I should have gotten rid of Doyle when I had the chance, but I didn't. I fought him, and then he got away. I let you down, I let myself down, I let Gabby down, I let _everyone _down Hotch," she said, finally allowing herself to break down and release all the emotions she had kept inside for ten years.

"Em," Hotch said soothingly, running a hand up and down her back as she cried into his shoulder. "Please don't feel like that. You did what any of us would have done. Nobody blames you, Em. We're going to get him this time. He won't win," he promised her.

"But what about Jack, Aaron? He hates me. I could tell by the way he looked at me. He must think I'm a monster,"

"No, not at all. He's mad at me. He's mad at the situation. He worshipped the ground you walked on when he was a kid. He'll always remember all the things you did for him, he just needs time to process what's going on,"

Emily sighed, and pulled herself away from Hotch's arms. "You're right… sorry. Just a bit emotional is all,"

"Understandable," he said, as he handed her a paper towel to use in place of a tissue.

"Thanks," she said using the paper towel to dab at her eyes. "What are we going to do? How are we going to find him and keep everyone safe?" she asked, ready to get down to business and end this mess before it got ugly.

"Morgan's running his own team in Chicago. Everybody else has kind of also moved away, except Garcia and Kevin. If you want, I can call Morgan up, see if he can get his team on the case. I can get everyone else here too, for support if you wanted. If Morgan's team will work the case, that leaves us here to keep Gabby and Jack safe,"

"Do you think Morgan would even consider that? He thinks he was the last person to see me alive, right?"

"Well, yes…" Hotch said, remembering the looks of hurt and confusion that appeared to be permanently planted on Morgan's face surrounding Emily's "death."

"He'll hate me. He won't do it,"

"Emily, please stop thinking everyone hates you. Nobody hates you. We all _love _you. Yes, love, present tense. Nobody ever stopped,"

Emily sighed, biting her bottom lip again as she picked at her nails. "Okay… call him up and see. If you tell him, though, you'll have to tell everyone else. Are they okay?" she asked randomly, not sure she wanted to hear the answer.

"They've all learned to cope," Hotch told her, not willing to admit that none of them had taken her death well. None of them could walk past her desk after the fact without tearing up. They all found themselves just staring at her picture on the wall of other fallen agents killed in the line of duty. Morgan had been stuck in the anger stage of grieving for what felt like ages. Reid seemed to remain confused and lost, resembling a homeless puppy at times. Garcia never seemed to her all of her peppy zest back, and even Rossi had has his fair share of extended sadness. He wouldn't tell Emily this, it would break her heart.

"You can call him first thing tomorrow. Is it too selfish of me to just want the night for ourselves? Like… like a family?" she asked him.

He took her hand in his, and squeezed it lightly. "It's not selfish, Em. You've never been selfish; not since the day we've met. You'd do anything to keep the ones you love safe, and that's what you've done. If you want tonight to be worry-free, then that's what we'll do," he told her.

"I love you," she said for the first time since their last encounter.

"And I love you," he said back, leaning in to kiss her again. He felt like he could kiss her constantly for the rest of his life, but even that would never make up for all the lost time.

Once they broke apart, Hotch noticed the look on Emily's face. She was thinking about something, something that was worrying her, but she wouldn't admit. He knew the look well.

"What is it?" he asked her.

She shook her head.

"Em, it's me. I see through that. Come on, what is it?" he coaxed.

"It's just… I'm terrified," she whispered. "For Gabby. You know Doyle. _She _is going to be his target, not me. I took Declan from him, so he's going to try to get her from me. What if- what if he takes her? I can't fathom anything happening to her, Aaron. She told me on the way here that she wasn't worried for her, but for me. She has no idea, no clue at all that she's in more danger than any of us. I don't want her to know," Emily said, her voice still a whisper to avoid Gabrielle overhearing.

"Oh Em," Hotch said, taking her into his open arms. "We'll keep her safe. What if we take shifts at night? One of us sleeping, the other watching out for Doyle possibly coming here? It's not the best system, but it'll work until we can get Morgan's team here.. Or any team here to help us," Hotch suggested.

"That makes me feel a little better," Emily admitted. "I don't even want to let her out of my sight, let alone out of this house. What if he's watching us… what if he just _takes _her away? We've both seen it happen countless times! You can be as careful as you want, but it only takes a split second of distraction and bam! She could be gone,"

"Emily, calm down," Hotch said firmly yet calmly. "We're going to keep her safe. We're going to keep you safe. We're going to find him, and this will all be over," he told her, planting a kiss in her dark hair as she cried quietly into his shirt.

"I trust you," she said, her voice barely audible. She meant it. She did trust him to keep them both safe, but that just didn't seem to be enough to shake the uneasy feeling she felt in her stomach as she sat and cried as Hotch held onto her.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

"Ian! They've landed," Paul Connolly said into his phone minutes after he saw Emily and Gabrielle get into Hotch's car. "They're on their way somewhere, probably to the man's house," Paul said referring to Hotch.

"Good," Ian said into his phone. He was on his way into DC, but he'd been unable to get a direct flight from Paris, so he was stuck somewhere in between. He didn't know, he didn't care to know. All he knew was the flight number he was supposed to board next, and that he was going to end Emily Prentiss' life, for real this time. He was more determined than he'd ever been in his entire life.

"When will you land?" Paul asked.

"Few hours. Won't be long now, keep your eye on them," Ian commanded. "Let me know if anything changes, what they're doing for safety precautions… everything. When I land I'll come right to your hotel room. Then we make our plan, deal?" Ian asked.

"Deal," Paul confirmed.

Ian hung up his phone, sitting back into his seat at the airport lobby of wherever he was. He closed his eyes, wishing things were different. He wished he had been able to see through the lie that was Lauren Reynolds. He had truly fallen in love with her, and he had honestly thought she'd felt the same about him. He wanted to hate Emily. He wanted to despise her, to have the guts to just walk up to her, kill her, and walk away. But he didn't, he couldn't. His mind kept drifting back to the times when he thought her name was Lauren. He wished he would've listened to his old friend Liam when he'd told him that Lauren was too good to me true.

He was right. She was too good to be true. In fact, she'd never even truly existed at all.

Ian jumped when he heard the announcement for his flight to board. Opening his eyes, he gathered what few belongings he brought with him, rushing to get to the plane. He pushed people, ignoring their entire existence as he sat in his seat, tapping his foot wildly. He wanted to get to DC and end this whole thing before he changed his mind, before he let himself fall back in love with Lauren Reynolds; the woman who never was.


	8. Chapter 8

**Hope you guys enjoy this chapter! We'll see another team member near the end of the chapter! And for once I do not have a novel for you to read before the chapter, so here you go! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster**

Doyle had finally landed in DC, and now he was seated in a chair in Paul Connolly's hotel room. It was conveniently located just 10 minutes from Hotch's house.

"So," Paul started. "What do you plan to do?"

"I'm going to get the girl," Doyle replied matter-of-factly. "But we need to lay low for awhile. They're going to be expecting me, and they're going to be extra careful. They'll get comfortable and mess up, though. We wait for that, and then we get her,"

"You're not gonna… hurt her, are you?" Paul asked skeptically, glancing up to make brief eye contact with Doyle as he ran his finger around the top of his glass that had been full of whiskey previously.

"Not too badly. I want _Lauren,_" he spat the name before continuing, "To know what it feels like to lose the most important thing in her life,"

"Okay," Paul agreed though he was hesitant. "So that's it, then? We wait?"

Doyle nodded, taking another swig of the whiskey he'd picked up before arriving at Paul's hotel. "We wait," he confirmed. "And we keep our eyes on them. That'll be more your job, though. Can't risk them seeing me,"

"Got it," Paul said, nodding in understanding. He wished he wasn't in the position he was in. Sure, Paul had done some things he was less than proud of doing in the past. He'd helped Doyle make some deals, among other things- some more serious than others. But never, ever in his life had he ever considered kidnapping a child for any reason whatsoever. Paul had a niece and a nephew of his own back him, and even though he wasn't close to them, rarely even saw them, he couldn't imagine someone just taking them. He couldn't imagine someone sitting, waiting for the perfect moment to just rip them away from everything they've ever known.

Their plot to kidnap Emily's daughter just wasn't sitting right with Paul, and he wanted out. However, he knew if her voiced this opinion, Doyle would sooner kill him than have his plan foiled. So he kept his mouth shut, and promised himself that he would do whatever Doyle said, as long as he didn't have to cause physical harm to the girl they were taking. As long as, in the end, she was okay, that this wouldn't be too big of a deal.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

It was nearing 3AM, and Emily was still awake. She was exhausted, but she couldn't bring herself to be still long enough to fall asleep. She was the only one still awake in the house. She and Hotch had planned on taking turns being awake that night, watching out for Gabrielle. It was an attempt to keep Emily's nerves calm, but it was obvious it was not working. She had yet to fall asleep, she found herself unable to do anything but think about the worst scenarios possible. She knew what Doyle was capable of and she knew he wasn't one to just give up on things he was after; finding Emily and Gabby even after 10 years was proof of that.

Emily felt someone grab her shoulder, and she had to bit her bottom lip to prevent herself from screaming as she spun around in the recliner she had been sitting in. She let out a sigh of relief when she saw who was standing in front of her.

"You scared me, Aaron," she whispered.

"Sorry," he whispered back. "You need to go to sleep,"

"I tried already, remember? I can't. I'm too… paranoid," she said, beginning to pick at her nails. Hotch took his hand in hers, to prevent her from doing so. She met his eyes.

"I promise you, it's going to be okay. I'll call Morgan first thing in the morning," he said.

"What if he can't do anything? Or worse.. What if he won't? You and I both know there's all sorts of red tape we would have to go through to get his team on this case. Is it even a case yet?" she rambled.

"He'll do whatever he can, you know that Emily,"

She sniffed, not even aware she had begun to cry. "I'm just so tired of this. He's been ruining my life for almost twenty years,"

"I know," Hotch sympathized. "But you're going to be fine. Gabby's going to be fine. I'm going to be fine," he tried soothing.

"How do you know?" she asked, her stubbornness showing fully.

"Because," he said, leaning down to kiss her lips softly. "I know everything, okay? Now come on, you are getting up from this chair, and you are going to sleep. I'll stay up and make sure you and Gabby are okay, okay?" he offered.

Emily sighed, and reluctantly let Hotch help her stand from the chair, knowing he wouldn't let this go. Without a word, he led her by the hand into the room Gabrielle was sound asleep in. Earlier in the day, JJ had gone shopping for clothes for Gabrielle and Emily, and they hadn't packed anything to bring with them from France. Gabrielle was thrilled at the prospect of new clothes, and once JJ returned, she immediately threw on a pair of purple pajama pants with white polka dots, and a white t-shirt with purple lettering on it. Emily was also happy to be out of her work clothes she still donned by that time, and she too threw on a pair of more comfortable sweat pants and t-shirt.

Emily had to smile at the girl. She was curled up under the blankets that were pulled all the way up to her chin, so only her head was exposed. Her dark hair was in her face, sprawled about the pillow.

"The plane ride wore her out," Emily commented quietly, brushing Gabrielle's wild hair out of her face, knowing she was sleeping too soundly to be awakened by that movement.

"She's beautiful, Em," Hotch noted.

"She looks so much like you. And she has your personality. It's scary sometimes," she told him, straightening Gabrielle's blankets.

Hotch came up behind Emily, bringing his arms up over her shoulder, lacing his fingers with hers.

"Thank you," he breathed, kissing her temple.

"For?" she questioned.

"For being so persistent in keeping her. JJ told me she advised you to put her up for adoption, but you refused. And even if I've only known her a few hours, I can't imagine life without her now. Thank you for giving me the chance to be a father again,"

Emily could have cried, but instead she turned in Hotch's arms to face him and kissed him.

She pulled away, and led him to the other side of the bed. She laid down beside Gabrielle, a yawn escaping her mouth.

"I think I'm finally relaxed enough to sleep," she said quietly, getting under the blankets.

"Good, you need your sleep," he said, leaning down to kiss her forehead.

"Can you stay here?" she asked.

"Why would I go anywhere else?" he asked, laying beside Emily. It was a tight fit, but all three of them fit in the bed.

Emily fell asleep nearly instantly, her arms wrapped around Hotch. He, however, stayed awake for the remainder of the night, just as he promised.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The next morning, Hotch decided to let Emily and Gabrielle sleep in. It was a Tuesday, so he wanted to be up to see Jack off to school. He quietly got out of bed just before 7, making his way into the kitchen to start coffee and make Jack breakfast.

Jack had continued to be distant, he hadn't come out of his room since they'd gone to get Emily and Gabrielle the day before. The previous day had been a teacher in-service for Jack's school, so he hadn't missed anything by coming with Hotch and JJ.

Just as Hotch had finished fixing breakfast, he heard footsteps come into the kitchen. He turned, not surprised to see Jack there, already dressed and ready for school.

"Hey," Hotch said, handing him a plate of food. "I made breakfast,"

Jack took the plate, but sat it down on the counter. "Thanks but I'm not hungry," he said. "I'm gonna leave earlier today- meet up with Sam before school,"

Hotch frowned. "Jack, you can't hide from this forever, we're going to have to talk about it eventually,"

"What's to talk about? You lied to me about Emily, and now you're expecting me to just welcome her _and _a little sister into my life with absolutely no warning? Let's also throw in the fact there's some psycho dude after her, and you're letting them stay here," Jack said bitterly.

"Can we sit?" Hotch asked, taking a seat on the chair by the counter, motioning for Jack to do the same. He did so, but not without an over dramatic eye roll.

"What?" Jack said, tapping his foot against the floor.

"I'm not blaming you for being upset with me. I would actually be a bit worried if you _weren't _affected by this. But you have to remember, you were barely seven when all this happened. How was I supposed to explain it all to you? I couldn't tell you the truth, because as much as I love you, let's face it, you've got a big mouth," he joked, noting Jack try to hide a smile.

"Then if you're not mad at me, why don't you just leave me alone?" Jack pressed.

"Because, you need to give Emily and Gabby a chance. Emily thinks you hate her. Gabby asked me if you were ever going to come out of your room yesterday. You don't have to be attached to their hips, but I am asking you to be a bit nicer, okay? This whole mess, it wasn't either of their faults. It was mine. So if you want to get mad and be upset, direct it toward me," Hotch informed, watching Jack's touch expression soften lightly.

"Emily thinks I hate her?" he asked quietly.

"That's what she told me yesterday. Now you and I both know that isn't true, but she thinks so,"

"I didn't mean to make her feel that way… it's just, it's weird. I thought she died. Like Mom. But she never was," Jack processed.

"I'm sorry," Hotch said. "If there had been any other way, I would have done it,"

Jack nodded. "Sorry," he mumbled.

"Don't worry about it, it's okay," he said, sighing in relief internally, happy to see he was able to get through to Jack, even just a little.

"Can I go now?" Jack asked, already standing from the chair.

"Yeah, you can go," Hotch dismissed, as Jack hurriedly walked out the door.

Sighing out loud now, he took the plate of untouched food, noticing it was too cold to be edible for anyone, so he disposed of it, and began cleaning up the kitchen.

Once the task was complete, he decided he couldn't put off calling Morgan any sooner. He wanted to call him and talk about the situation at length, and he knew the best time would be early in the morning, or later in the evening after he returned home.

Hotch looked up the number to Morgan's office, hoping he wasn't out on a case.

"Unit Chief Derek Morgan," Hotch heard after a few rings.

"Hey, Morgan," Hotch greeted. "It's Hotch,"

"Man, hey! How you doin'?" Morgan asked on the other end of the line. "It's been forever, man," he added.

"I know, it really has. I hate to bother you at work, and I hate to tell you this over the phone… but there's something you need to know, and something I need your help with."

"I'm listening," Morgan said, a more serious tone to his voice than he had previously.

"It's…" Hotch trailed off, running a hand across the top of his head, not sure how to break the news gently, while also letting Morgan know this was a serious matter.

"It's what? You okay? Jack okay?" he could hell Morgan was getting antsy, so he decided to just bluntly say it.

"It's Emily," Hotch said.

"Em-Emily?" Morgan sounded dumbfounded. "What about her, Hotch?"

"Emily's alive, Morgan,"

"Hotch," Morgan said through gritted teeth. "I don't know what you're trying to pull, but I assure you this isn't funny. I have things to do, so if you're just calling to screw with me, then I suggest you hang up,"

"No, Morgan," Hotch said firmly. "She really _is _alive. JJ and I faked her death ten years ago, after Doyle got away. It was the only way to keep her safe, while also keeping all of you safe. He would've killed us all to get to her," Hotch explained, trying to keep calm, but also wanting to get the initial explanation over with.

"You're lying," Morgan said, clearly upset now. Hotch could hear rustling of papers in the background, then the sound of something falling to the floor. "I helped carry her coffin, Hotch,"

"Derek," Hotch said, using Morgan's first name, a rarity even after all this time. "Please listen to me for five seconds, okay? I understand you're angry-" before he could finish, Morgan cut him off.

"You don't have any _idea _how I'm feeling," Morgan spat.

"Please," Hotch said. "I know it's a lot to take in, believe me, I do. But I need you to listen to me. I need your help. Emily needs your help," he said.

"If she's _really _alive," Morgan said. "Then where is she? What's she been doing for ten years?"

"She's at my house, sleeping upstairs. She's been living in Paris all this time, under a different name. We have a daughter, Morgan. She's nine. Her name is Gabby, and she and Emily are both in trouble. Doyle found them. That's why JJ and I had to bring them back," he explained.

"I don't believe you," Morgan said. "I don't for one second believe you would _lie _to not only me, but the other four people who loved her just as much as you and JJ did. I don't believe you would have lied about her existence. You would have told us," Morgan said in disbelief. "Second, you and Emily have a kid? What'd you do, have secret meetings with her and the kid all this time? Have you seen Emily regularly? Did you talk to me about how I felt about losing her, then go home and call her up?" Morgan said angrily, obviously trying to keep his voice down.

"We had to make it believable, Morgan," Hotch said. "We knew hw would be watching all of you closely, JJ and I included, so we couldn't tell anyone. It was top secret. And _no,_" Hotch emphasized. "It was nothing like that. I didn't have any sort of contact with her until yesterday. I didn't know about Gabby until yesterday, and I didn't meet her until she and Emily landed in DC,"

"So you thought playing with the emotions of your friends was the best option," Morgan said as a statement, not as a question.

"You can blame me all you want, but we couldn't risk Doyle coming after her again. _I _wasn't going to risk that,"

"Look, man, it's been ten years. We've all moved on, or at least tried to. Do you really think bringing back up a ten year case is good for me- good for any of us- right now? Have you told anyone else?" Morgan rambled.

"I wouldn't be asking you to help me if I didn't think it was the best option. The only other person I've told is Jack. He's taking it a lot like you are. He's angry at me, I would be angry at me too. But I need you to look past the anger right now, just until we're sure Em and Gabby are safe. Think about Emily. Think about how close you used to be. Do you really want to leave her in danger?" Hotch asked.

He heard Morgan sigh. "I can't do anything until it becomes a case. We have to be invited in, you know how this works," Morgan said. "You'll have to take it up with your local PD first,"

"How is that even possible?" Hotch said/ "Doyle was on _everyone's _radar! FBI, CIA, everybody wanted him. You mean to tell me that nobody cares anymore?"

"Like I said, it's been ten years. He's been inactive all this time up until now. For all anybody knew, he could have been dead. I don't know where he falls in terms of being wanted anymore, but I guess I'll look into it and let you know what I find," Morgan said.

"Thank you," Hotch said sincerely, relieved he would be getting some sort of help from Morgan. "I think Emily's awake," Hotch added. "Do you want to talk to her,"

There was a long pause from the other end of the line. "No," he heard finally. "No… I don't think that's a good idea. I'll get back to you in the Doyle thing but you also need to take this up with locals," Morgan said quickly before the line went dead.

Hotch sighed again, worried for Morgan's sake. He turned around in the seat he had been sitting in as he talked to Morgan, seeing Emily standing in front of him now.

"Was that Morgan?" she asked.

"Yeah…" Hotch replied.

"He hates me, doesn't he?"

"No, he doesn't. He's mad. Everyone's probably going to have that reaction at first," Hotch reminded her gently. "But it's going to be okay, he's going to talk to some people and figure out where Doyle is on people's watch lists. But he also suggested contacting locals. I'd rather just get an FBI team here to work it, but apparently we have to do this the normal way," Hotch huffed.

"I told you," Emily said, sighing as she threw her hands up in the air.

"It'll be okay," Hotch said.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Emily said, taking the seat next to Hotch.

"Gabby still asleep?" Hotch changed the subject quickly, hoping to ease the tension slightly.

"No, she's up now. She woke me up an hour ago, actually but I kept putting her off. She's going through all the clothes JJ got her yesterday deciding what she wants to wear. Also, she's taking a shower. I hope that's okay,"

"This is yours and Gabby's house now too, of course that's okay,"

"Thanks," Emily said flatly.

Hotch wished there was more he could do to lift Emily's spirits, but he knew that would be an almost impossible feat until Doyle was dead. Instead of saying anything else to her, he simply enveloped her in a hug, letting her know that he was always going to be there for her, no matter what happened.


	9. Chapter 9

**Hello again! This weekend I was hit with a massive case of writer's block, so I hope this chapter isn't disappointing and that you find it worth the wait! Thank you all so much as always for your kind reviews, story alerts, and favorites. It's a real motivator! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster**

It had been one week since Hotch had contacted Morgan, and since then neither of them had spoken. Hotch had even called Morgan back two different times on two different days after they had first talked, but Morgan never returned his calls. He would have assumed they were on a case, but he knew if that were true, his calls to Morgan's office would have been directed back to the FBI Supervisor who would have informed him so. He should know, he'd spent years leading a team.

Needless to say, things were tense in Hotch's house. Emily had barely slept at all, too afraid for what could happen, too alert to allow herself to truly relax. She ate little, and spoke even less. She hardly talked to Hotch, and when she did she usually ended up in tears. She had not spoken to JJ in a couple of days now, despite the fact JJ either called or dropped by Hotch's house every day to check in. Hotch wished there was more he could do for the obviously depressed and terrified woman, but he was literally at his wits end.

Gabrielle noticed Emily's behavior, and while she never said anything about it, Hotch could tell she was getting more worried with each day that passed. The young girl never asked any questions, never prodded Emily to tell her why she was acting the way she was, and even when Emily had been snappy with Gabrielle a few times, she didn't get upset. In some ways, he was thankful for Gabby's ability to understand that even if her mother was handling things in a way none of them agreed with, that she was only doing it to keep Gabby safe. However, sometimes he wish Gabby would act out just one time, maybe it would bring Emily back in and make her want to take care of herself. Then he reminded himself, this was Emily Prentiss' child. Compartmentalizing would be part of the territory, no matter what the age.

While Jack had promised Hotch he would give Emily and Gabrielle a chance, he had rarely spoken to them or been in the same room as them for longer than a few minutes. Hotch tried to chalk it up to the teenager wanting to avoid the tense situation, but he knew Jack was probably still frustrated and upset.

To add to the situation, Hotch had called the local police department two days ago. He explained the situation in detail, making sure there was no room for confusion. After he had been on the phone for nearly two hours, speaking to at least six different people, he was no closer to getting help than he had been before he called. Despite the fact Ian Doyle had once been one of the most wanted criminals in more than one country, and that he had directly contacted Hotch via a note, he was still told there was nothing the police department could do. Every person Hotch spoke to told him that he would need to present more physical evidence that the contactor was, indeed, Ian Doyle and not someone who meant no harm other than to scare Hotch. No matter how much Hotch argued, no matter what he said, he couldn't get help. That made Hotch more angry than anything else. Here he was, literally begging for help for not only himself, but for three other people he loved more than anything in the world, and nothing could be done. Not until someone was threatened, or hurt physically. Though he had once been in law enforcement, and had seen this type of situation pop up before, it still made him sick to think about.

As Hotch glanced over to the couch from his recliner, he decided he could no longer bare the ever present sadness that Emily wore on her face. He wanted to do something to ease her pain. He watched Emily and Gabrielle, seated across the room. Gabby was insistent on watching the same animated movie she had already watched at least five times that week, and she wanted Emily and Hotch in the room as well. Hotch had been staring at the TV, but he had no idea what was happening as the brightly colored characters danced across the screen. He had been too busy thinking about the situation at hand, wishing he could save the day with some sort of miracle.

Hotch noted Emily's completely closed off gestures. Her arms and legs were crossed, and she was looking down at the ground. She'd been biting her lip for nearly an hour, not paying attention to anything at all. When Gabrielle would try to talk to her, she would give the girl a brief smile, or a one worded answer. After Gabrielle sighed and got up from the couch, making her way into the room she and Emily had been sharing without bothering to stop the movie, Hotch got an idea.

"Emily?" He said softly, not wanting to startle her.

She looked up at him. "Yeah?"

"I've got an idea," he offered, moving from the recliner over to the couch to sit next to Emily. He placed his hand on her knee, waiting for her response.

"What?" she asked, continuing to keep herself closed off.

"What if we tell Garcia?"

"Why would we do that, Hotch? To have her hate me too?"

"Em, Morgan doesn't hate you. He needs time-"

"Well, you know what? We don't _have _time!" Emily cut him off, swatting his hand off her knee as she scooted farther away from him. "For all we know, Doyle's staking out your house right now. He could just be _waiting _for us to do one little thing wrong, so he can get to Gabby! Or maybe he's waiting for me to be in the proper position to shoot me, or you, or Jack, or anyone! JJ and Will and Henry could be in danger too! I don't know. We're not going to know unless we get some help!" She said angrily, as she stood and began pacing around the coffee table. "Where is she?" Emily asked suddenly. "She was right here, wasn't she?"

"She went up to her room because neither of us were paying attention to the movie. Jack's upstairs, too. She's fine," he told her. She glanced towards the stairs, and Hotch knew she wasn't convinced.

"Emily," he tried again. "Can you please just listen to me? I know you're scared, I know you haven't been sleeping and you haven't been eating, but if you just take time to hear me out I'm sure you'll start feeling a little better," he said, motioning for her to come sit by him again.

She rolled her eyes, but sat next to him anyway.

"I want us to tell Garcia because she still works for the Bureau. She can look up Doyle for us and tell us right away how in demand he is," he explained. "We can go from there. If he's as wanted as he was ten years ago, we might be able to get help faster if we call the right people,"

Emily sighed. "If you think telling her will actually solve anything, then go ahead I guess. But I don't want to be in the room when you call," she said quickly. "I just- I don't want to hear her if she's angry so I'm going to go up and be with Gabby, so she's not alone,"

"Okay," Hotch agreed. "I'll be up in a little while," he said, watching her stand again and make her way slowly up the stairs towards their daughter.

Hotch had taken it upon himself to find all the necessary names and numbers to get in touch with Garcia before her asked Emily, wanting to do as much as he could as quickly as possible.

"Technical Analyst Penelope Garcia speaking, how may I help you?" he heard on the other end of the line a few minutes later.

"What, no witty commentary for your former boss?" Hotch joked.

"Hotch?" Garcia asked quietly. "Hey, what brings you to the Wonderful World of PG today?" she asked, her tone much lighter than it had been before.

"I really hate to bother you at work," he started. "But this is really important. Are you busy?"

"The Great and Powerful Techno-queen knows not the meaning of such words. What can I do for you?" she asked, sounding eager to help.

"Okay, I need to explain something to you, and I need you to not freak out and scream and cry and all of that other stuff you've been known to do,"

"Are you okay?" she asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Garcia. But this is a lot to take in. Are you sitting down?"

"Yes, now out with it!"

"Okay, okay," he said. "What I need you to do, is look up Ian Doyle on the FBI, CIA, and anyone else's lists. I need to see how wanted he is,"

"D-Doyle?" she asked cautiously.

"I know it's been ten years, and I know the chances of his being on anyone's radar are slim to none, but I just-" he sighed. "Garcia, Emily's alive,"

"She's _what_?"

Hotch went on to explain everything that had happened in the past week, as quickly yet efficiently as he could. He explained he needed her to look Doyle up in hopes that he was still wanted, so maybe Hotch and Emily could get some help to protect them all.

Garcia went from making no noise at all, to squealing directly into Hotch's ear, despite her promise to not do that. "My little raven haired beauty is among the living after all?" she said excitedly. "_And _there's a little mini Prentiss-Hotchner running around? Oh I _must _come see you all soon! Can I come see them? Have you told anyone else? Oh everyone's going to be just thrilled!" Garcia said, resembling an overly excited child.

"Garcia," Hotch said seriously. "I need you to focus,"

"Right, sorry, do continue," she said, though Hotch knew without seeing her that the woman on the other end had a smile plastered to her face.

"Remember how I told you Doyle found them? They're in trouble. I could be in trouble. We need to stop him before he does something dangerous,"

"Already on it," Garcia said and Hotch could hear the clacking and clicking of the keyboard, and the beeping of more technology.

"Ian Doyle is…. Oh," she said, sounding disappointed.

"What?"

"Since he's been inactive for so long he's not really… he's not on anyone's radar for any reason. A couple of lists have him declared dead. Though I don't know why, since there's no proof… and since he's contacted you. I'm sorry," Garcia said.

"Damn it," Hotch cursed. "This isn't good,"

"I can hack into some databases… make him a target," Garcia offered.

"As much as I want to say yes, and as much as I wish I could allow you to do that, I can't. You know that," Hotch said.

Garcia sighed. "I just want to help,"

"I know you do, and thank you so much. But we'll figure it out, I promise," Hotch said.

"Can I come by and see them soon? You still live in the area right?" Garcia asked, changing the subject.

"I would love for you to come, yes. I still live near you. But you need to know… she's different, Garcia. She's not the same person she was ten years ago. Plus, she hasn't been sleeping or eating properly since she got here. She's too scared for what _might _happen. I can't say as I blame her but I've made it my personal mission to ease some of the paranoia. You coming by might just be what she needs,"

"Okay, well, if tomorrow's not too soon, I should be able to come by then if that's alright," Garcia confirmed.

"That sounds great, Garcia. Thank you,"

"I'm sorry there's nothing more I can do… legally," she added slyly.

Hotch chuckled. "I'm sorry too,"

They hung up, and Hotch was no less frustrated than he had been previously. He just wanted someone to get Doyle and get rid of him for good, so that he, Emily, Jack, and Gabby could try being a normal family.

Knowing he couldn't put telling Emily what Garcia had said off for very long, Hotch made his way up the stairs and into Emily and Gabby's shared bedroom, for the time being. He found Gabrielle sleeping, and Emily lying wide awake next to her. When he caught Emily's eye, he motioned for her to meet him out in the hall. Quietly, Emily got up from the bed and met Hotch out in the hall, closing the door behind her.

He led her by the hand down to the living room, where they could sit on the couch comfortably.

"So?" Emily asked anxiously, using her bottom lip as a method of stress relief, biting it nervously.

"I talked to Garcia. She's not mad. She actually wants to come see you tomorrow," He watched as Emily gave him a brief smile.

"But?" she asked.

"But…since Doyle's been basically inactive for so long until now, he's nobody's top priority except ours. A couple of agencies have him listed as deceased, even. So…" he trailed off as he saw Emily's face fall.

"There's nothing nobody can do," she said flatly. "Not until someone gets hurt. Sometimes I hate the government," she muttered.

"You knew just as well as I did that this would probably be the outcome," Hotch reminded her.

"I can't just sit around here waiting for something else to happen! I don't know how to not always be looking over my shoulder, because even when Gabby and I were in Paris before we were found, I was always cautious. I don't know what it's like to not worry, especially about her," Emily said, pacing the length of the couch in front of Hotch.

"I know this is hard, Em,"

"No!" Emily said, much louder than she meant to. "No, Hotch. You don't have any _idea _how hard this is. You don't know what it's like to live your life every single day for nearly twenty years in absolute fear that some terrorist you had to pretend to fall in love with _for your job _is going to come find you, and kill you, or worse, kill the people you care about more than anything else in the world. Even after my team got him locked up, I was still scared! He's got friends and contacts everywhere. He could have found me long before he actually did find me the first time!" She said, exasperated. She picked up the coffee mug that was sitting on the table in front of her, and threw it across the room in frustration, shattering it into pieces.

"Emily, Emily, stop!" Hotch said, grabbing her arm. She jerked away quickly, not meeting his eyes. "I _do _know how you feel. I know what it's like to be fearful every single day. I know what it's like to not even know where my own son and his mother were living," Hotch argued back. "Don't you remember Foyet? Haley?" he asked bitterly, feeling his skin crawl at the mention of Foyet's name. "I know _exactly _what it feels like to feel like you feel right now, Emily. Don't shut me out and tell me that I don't,"

Emily opened her mouth to say something back, but stopped herself when she noticed another presence hurriedly making her way out of the room.

"Oh, God," Emily breathed.

"Go make sure she's okay," Hotch said, turning towards the shattered coffee mug to clean up the pieces, as Emily took off after Gabrielle, not stopping until she reached the bedroom Gabrielle had ran into, immediately jumping up on the bed and pulling the blankets up over her head.

"Gabby," Emily said softly, seating herself on the bed next to the girl. Gabby responded by burying herself farther into the blankets. "How long were you standing out there?" Emily asked, afraid to find out the answer, though she already knew.

"Long enough to know you guys are arguing," Gabby said, her reply muffled.

"No, we're not arguing, honey. Sometimes grown ups just don't always see eye-to-eye on things,"

To this, Gabrielle threw the blankets off, sitting up abruptly in the bed to face Emily.

"I'm _not _a baby anymore, you know that don't you? I can tell when something's wrong and I know for a fact there's something you're not telling me! You told me that once we got here, we would be safe. If we were, you wouldn't be acting so weird! You never eat, you look like you've hardly slept at all since we've been here, and every time I try to talk to you, you don't talk back! You just smile at me and look like you're going to start crying. And, to top it all off, you were just so angry and upset that you threw a cup across the room and broke it! How is that supposed to make me feel like everything's okay?"

Emily sat stunned for a few moments. Gabrielle had never acted out this way towards Emily before. Emily knew it was selfish, but up until this moment, she actually thought she had been successful at leading Gabrielle to believe they were okay, that there was nothing to be afraid of.

"Sweetheart," Emily started.

"See, this is exactly what I mean! You always avoid _everything _by calling me 'sweetheart' or 'sweetie,' or 'honey,' and then you never give me an answer!"

"Gabby, I just don't want you to worry,"

"I'm _already _worrying!" Gabrielle said, tears finally beginning to well up in her eyes. "Whatever you're hiding from me can't be much worse,"

"It's going to be okay," Emily said, though she wasn't so sure she believed that statement herself.

"Just stop it, Mom," Gabrielle said, retreating back into her blanket cocoon. "Leave me alone," she said. Emily could tell by the cracking of Gabrielle's voice that she was crying.

Not knowing what to say, she simply patted Gabrielle on the back and quietly walked out of the room, and shutting the door behind her. She then leaned her back against the wall, and sank down onto the floor, quiet sobs wracking her weak body.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Hotch was growing worried about Emily and Gabrielle, as they had both left the room nearly ten minutes ago and neither of them had returned. He made his way upstairs to check on them, hoping the two of them had managed to come to a resolution. To his surprise, he found Emily sitting on the floor outside of the bedroom door, her head in her hands.

"Em?" he asked, swiftly sitting next to her, his arm around her shoulders instantly. "What are you doing?"

Without looking up, Emily replied "Do you know what she said to me when I went in there?"

"What did she say?" Hotch prodded, pulling the obviously upset woman closer to him slowly.

"She told me that I need to stop babying her. That I'm obviously not telling her something, and that she wanted me to leave her alone. She called me _Mom. _She's never called me that before, Aaron. She's never, ever taken that tone with me before. I thought I'd have a few more years before she started hating me,"

"She doesn't hate you," Hotch said.

"You didn't hear her! I _know _that tone. I invented it," she said, her sarcastic attitude shining through. "It's the only way I ever talked to my mother until I was well into my twenties, maybe even thirties,"

"She's just worried. You've been a little… on edge the past few days," Hotch said carefully.

Emily looked up to glare at Hotch. "Are you telling me you're not the least bit concerned for the safety of the people we love?"

"No, no," Hotch said gently. "That's not what I'm saying. You just need to take care of yourself. You know, sleeping and eating regularly, things like that,"

"I know, I know. I've been acting like I did before… before I had to leave," she said. "I was never worried for me, only for all of you," she added.

"It's going to be fine, Emily. We'll get him."

"Are we?" Emily said coldly. "Before or after he ruins my entire life… _again_?"

"Come here," Hotch said, opening his arms for Emily, to which she immediately fell into.

"I'm sorry I'm being so crazy," Emily mumbled into his chest.

"Don't apologize. It's okay. We all need to lose it here and there,"

He sat there just like that, with Emily crying into his shirt for a few minutes, before the tears finally stopped and she looked up at him. He brushed some of her messy hair out of her face.

"Why don't you tell me a story?"

Emily raised an eyebrow. "A story?"

"Yeah," Hotch said. "Remember how you used to get me started talking about Jack when I got too upset over Foyet's case, or losing Haley?" Hotch asked. "Why don't you tell me something about Gabby? It'll calm you down a little, then you can go back in there and talk to her. I would, but I think she needs to talk to you,"

Emily smiled weakly. "That would be… that would be great," she said honestly. "What kind of story would you like to hear? I've got plenty,"

Hotch thought for a moment. "Tell me about one of her 'firsts,' since I've missed almost all of those,"

"There's a lot of those too," Emily said guiltily.

"It's not your fault, just tell me a story about one,"

Emily thought for a moment, before remembering a perfect story to tell Hotch…

**Summer 2017**

Emily awoke to feeling someone shaking her shoulder violently. She sat up abruptly, noticing the small, dark haired person standing next to her bed, her hair in a messy ponytail, already dressed for the day.

"What's wrong?" Emily asked, glancing over at the clock. _7AM _it read. For a Sunday, this was much earlier than Emily ever wanted to think about being awake.

"Nothing's wrong!" Gabrielle said happily. "I just want to go back to the park and learn to ride my bike!"

Emily had saved up enough money to buy Gabby a shiny, bright pink bicycle for her fifth birthday in December. Funds for such things had been limited since Emily had went into hiding. She and Gabrielle definitely weren't living in poverty by any means, but there just wasn't money to spend beyond the basic needs for survival, so when Emily made the purchase, she couldn't help but feel a deep sense of accomplishment in herself. Even though it had been nearly six months since Emily bought the bike for Gabby, the little girl had still not mastered how to ride it without the training wheels. Emily had figured out how to get them off all by herself when Gabby had mentioned wanting the training wheels gone in late April, and since then, the two had devoted their weekends to going to the park so Gabby would have room to learn to ride the bike freely.

"It's too early, _ma chere,_" Emily said, yawning.

"The sun's coming up," Gabby noted.

"I know it is, but Mommy doesn't get up with the sun on Sundays," Emily said, laying back down on the bed, pulling a pillow up over her head.

She felt Gabrielle hop up on the bed next to her, pulling the pillow off her mother's head.

"Well," she said. "You should! _Sun, Sunday, _it makes sense!" Gabrielle said happily, flashing Emily a toothy grin.

Emily had to laugh at that. "I promise, today we'll go to the park, but it's too early right now,"

"But I'm already dressed and everything," Gabby said, a hint of sadness in her tone. Emily sat up, knowing there was no way she was going to win this battle.

"Okay, if you want to go now, we will," Emily gave in.

"Yay!" Gabrielle cheered, jumping up and down on the bed, laughing as she did so.

"Okay, okay, no more jumping!" Emily said, crawling out of bed and grabbing Gabrielle, holding her close even though se was trying to wriggle free. She sat the girl down on the ground, but that didn't stop Gabby from continuing her jumping spell.

"Okay, little jumping bean, give me a few minutes to get dressed, and then we'll go," Emily said.

"'Kay!" Gabrielle said, happily skipping off to her room to allow Emily to get herself ready.

Twenty minutes later, she and Gabrielle were on their way to the park, Gabby pushing her pink bike along with her. Emily couldn't believe she was up and out the door before 8AM on one of her beloved days off work, but she couldn't disappoint Gabrielle.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Two hours and several bad falls later, Gabrielle was growing frustrated. No matter how many times she tried, she couldn't seem to keep herself from falling off the bike and onto the ground. After the last fall, Gabrielle noticed her knee was bleeding a bit, and Emily tried coaxing Gabby into take a break, but the little girl was determined.

"Come on," Emily said softly. "Why don't you come sit on the bench with me for a few minutes? We can try riding again later,"

"No!" Gabrielle said insistently, a serious look on her face. One that mirrored that of her father. "I wanna learn it _today_!" She said, sitting herself up on the bike once more, her feet planted on the ground. "Push me again. I won't fall this time," Gabby said, scrunching her face up into one os pure concentration.

Emily shook her head, there was no denying this child was hers and Hotch's. Her will and determination for everything she wanted to do was a carbon copy of both her parents. So, Emily did as she was asked, and pushed Gabrielle on her bike a few feet, not letting go until Gabrielle gave her the okay.

A few seconds later, she heard Gabrielle say: "Let go!"

"You sure?" Emily asked.

"I'm sure," Gabrielle said, gripping the handlebars with the frilly silver tassels tighter.

"Okay," Emily agreed. "1.…2...3!" she said, as she let go of Gabrielle and the bike, bringing her hands up to her mouth to chew on her nails as she looked onward. "Remember to watch where you're going!" she said, remembering Gabrielle's habit of looking backwards at Emily.

Emily continued watching carefully as Gabrielle made her way around the circle track of the park. She'd already made it farther than she ever had before, and Emily considered that in itself an accomplishment. Gabby lost her balance a few times, but she never fell over, and before long she had made her way all the way around the track, stopping right before she would have ran into Emily.

"You did it!" Emily said, lifting Gabrielle up and spinning her around in a circle once the girl had gotten off her bike and had kicked the kickstand into place.

"Mommy I went _all _the way around the track by myself! And I didn't fall this time!" she said happily.

"I saw! You did great, baby," Emily said proudly.

"Can I do it again?" Gabby asked as Emily put her back down on the ground. "Don't push me this time," she instructed.

"You got it," Emily nodded.

That's just what they did for the remainder of the morning, only stopping when Gabrielle complained of being tired and hungry. Emily's heart swelled with pride at her daughter, but she couldn't help but feel a constant dull ache. It had been six years since she had seen or heard from Aaron, yet she still wished he was here, or they were where he was. She wished he could have seen her, witnessing how she didn't let anything stop her from her goal. Emily knew that determination would only grow with Gabrielle, and she knew that someday, wherever life lead them, that Gabrielle would be something great, especially if she turned out like her father.

**March 2021**

"She's _so _much like you," Emily said after she finished the story.

"Don't sell yourself short, Em," Hotch told her. "You're just as determined to do things as I am,"

"Maybe," Emily agreed. "But that's one day I'll never, ever forget. I wanted you there so badly, maybe more than I ever wanted you to see anything else she's done. It was just… unreal," Emily gushed, leaning into Hotch further than she already was.

They sat there for a few moments, neither of them saying anything, just enjoying the other's mere touch.

"See, look how much calmer you are," Hotch noted.

"Thank you," Emily said. "I was getting a little bit crazy, I'm sorry,"

"It's okay," he said, kissing the top of her head. "But hey, this may not be the best time to bring it up, but do you want to tell Reid and Rossi? I think since everyone else knows, they should know too, but it's up to you,"

"I don't know," Emily said quietly. "I want to, but I don't. That doesn't even make sense. God I'm so indecisive!" she said.

"You don't need to decide right now," Hotch told her. "I just wanted you to think about it,"

"Okay," Emily said. "I should go check on Gabby and apologize to her,"

"I should check on Jack too," Hotch replied.

Emily sat up, trying to stand up from the floor she and Hotch had been sitting on for the past few minutes. When she finally succeeded, only stumbling just a bit, she smoothed her hair and said:

"Wow, we're getting too old for this sitting in the floor nonsense,"

"Possibly…" Hotch said, struggling to get up as well. Emily laughed, reaching out a hand to help Hotch stand.

"And to think you used to chase serial killers around for a living," she joked, quickly backing away as Hotch tried to smack her arm lightly.

"Hey Em?" he said instead.

"Yeah?"

"Shut up," he said, laughing as he walked the opposite way into Jack's room, thankful his attempt at calming Emily down had seemed to work.


	10. Chapter 10

**Hope everyone had a nice weekend! I just wanted to, yet again, thank all of you for reviewing, alerting, favoriting, or just simply reading this story. It means a lot to me! Within the next couple of chapters some of you might start to hate me, but rest assured I don't think by the time this ends anyone will still feel the same, so I hope you all stick it out with me! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM. **

**-kbrewster.**

Penelope Garcia had visited the Hotchner household four times since Hotch had called her. On her first visit, she'd practically knocked Emily down the floor from hugging the brunette woman so tightly. The emotional, bubbly blonde had also nearly cost everyone their hearing with her screams of excitement, but not before shedding more tears than she might have shed at Emily's fake funeral. Needless to say, the first visit had left Gabby a bit skeptical of Garcia.

However, three more visits later, Gabby and Garcia were becoming fast friends. Each time Garcia visited, she brought something fun for her and Gabby to do. Garcia had brought movies, cookie cutters and needed ingredients to make cookies, and some of her old makeup she never used anymore. Today's activity was bracelet making, which left Gabby wide-eyed and excited as Garcia laid out all the colorful beads and string out on the kitchen table. It was a Saturday afternoon, and luckily, Garcia hadn't been called away on a case.

"You've got her spoiled," Emily commented, working on making a lunch consisting of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and goldfish crackers. Though it wasn't the most nutritional, Gabby had requested it.

"Nonsense," Garcia said, waving a hand in the air. "I have nine years to make up for, and I fully intend on doing so!"

Emily laughed, setting an orange plate in front of Gabby, snatching up a few of the goldfish from it and eating them.

"Hey!" Gabby said. "Make your own plate," she teased.

"Oh, thank you Mommy for making me this wonderful, though highly lacking nutrients, lunch that I ever so sweetly requested!" Emily said, a dramatic element to her voice, causing Gabby and Garcia to laugh.

"Thanks, Mama," Gabby said as she took a bite of her sandwich.

"It's so cute she calls you 'Mama,'" Garcia noted.

"A lot of kids call their Moms that in France," Emily said.

"Well it's adorable," Garcia said. Emily smiled in return, setting a plate down for herself and Garcia as she called for Hotch who had been sitting in the living room watching golf. Jack was out with one of his friends from soccer, and though Emily didn't say anything, she wished the boy was there with all of them.

"So," Hotch said as he came up behind Emily, who was seated at the counter next to Garcia, and wrapped his arms around her neck. "Peanut butter and jelly, huh?"

"Gabby asked for it, if you want something else I'll let you make it yourself," Emily said, tilting her head back into the crook of Hotch's neck to meet his eyes.

"Wouldn't dream of asking you to do such a thing, I haven't had a PB&J in years," he commented, removing his arms from Emily's neck and picking up her sandwich, taking a bite out of it.

Emily gasped, and hit him lightly in the stomach. "Your plate is over there next to Gabby!" She said, pointing to the other side of the counter.

"It's not so funny when it's your food being taken, is it Mama?" Gabby said as she laughed at her parents' actions.

"Okay, okay, I apologize," Emily said to Gabby, giving the girl a few of her goldfish to make up for the ones she had eaten.

The rest of their meal had went without a hitch, and after Garcia helped clean up, much to Emily's protest.

"You wouldn't let me help you make it, so at least let me help clean up!" Garcia had argued.

Once everything had been put back into place, Garcia turned to Gabby who had patiently been sitting at the kitchen table, looking at the bracelet making materials longingly.

"Do we get to start now?" Gabby asked excitedly, swinging her legs back and forth.

Garcia laughed at the girl's excitement. "Of course, my little cupcake, we can start!" she said, sitting in the seat across from Gabby, immediately explaining to the girl how to make the bracelets.

Emily smiled at the two of them as she quietly made her way out of the kitchen to give them time for their activity.

"Hey," Hotch said when Emily entered the living room, and motioned for her to come sit next to him.

"Hi," she said as she took the seat.

"I've been meaning to tell you this for a few days, but it's so good to see you smiling and laughing again," he told her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders.

"It's good to feel like I can," Emily admitted.

"I know things haven't been moving as quickly as either of us had planned, but it'll be okay," he said.

"I know," Emily smiled, though she still wasn't sure she believed it fully.

Nearly an hour later, Emily heard the unmistakable footsteps of Gabby, running into the room. Emily had dozed off, so she opened her eyes, noticing Hotch too had fallen asleep.

"Mama!' Gabby said excitedly, nearly falling into Emily's lap when she tried to stop, but Emily steadied the girl so that didn't happen.

"Shhh," she said, putting a finger to her lips. "Your Daddy's sleeping," she whispered.

"No I'm not," Hotch said, sitting up straighter. "I'm awake," he said.

"Sorry," Gabby said sheepishly.

"It's okay," Hotch said, smiling. "I wasn't all the way asleep yet anyway, now what's got you so excited?"

"Look!" Gabby said, outstretching both of her arms, revealing two armfuls of colorful bracelets. Some were made with beads, and others had been braided together using different colored strings.

"Very pretty!' Hotch commented.

"Thank you," Gabby said happily as she turned to show her arms to Emily.

"Oh, those are just beautiful," Emily said.

Gabby slid a braided bracelet made of green, blue, and yellow string off of her arm and extended it out to Emily.

"I made this one for you," she said.

"Aww," Emily cooed, sliding the bracelet onto her arm, inspecting it with pride. "Thank you, sweet girl. I love it,"

Gabby smiled, hugging Emily tightly around the neck. When the embrace ended, Gabby turned back to Hotch. "I made you and Jack one too, but they're not as girly as Mama's," Gabby said, handing Hotch a dark blue, white, and light blue bracelet and a red, white, and black one.

"The blue one's yours and the other is Jack's," she said. "If you want it," she added quickly.

"Of course I do," Hotch confirmed, taking the young girl in his arms and hugging her.

"Mama?" Gabby asked, sitting herself in Hotch's lap.

"Yeah?" Emily answered.

"Penelope was telling me that on her way here she passes a park with really big swings, and a tree, and a lot of picnic tables," Gabby started, biting her bottom lip as she did so. Emily knew the trait well, and knew there was something more coming.

"Oh, yeah?" Emily asked.

"Yeah," Gabby confirmed, playing with the bracelets still covering her wrists. "It sounded really fun, and it makes me miss our park, and how we would go for walks sometimes. And I haven't even been out of the house in _ages,_" Gabby stressed the final word, turning her body and dramatically flopping back, her head in Emily's lap as her legs stayed outstretched over Hotch. "Can we go?" The girl asked hopefully, flashing Emily a grin that even upside down, was hard to ignore.

However, Emily just brushed some hair back out of Gabby's face as she kept herself from sighing out loud. Of course she felt guilty for keeping Gabby locked inside all the time, especially since Jack was still able to go to school, go visit friends, and live a relatively normal life. She felt guilty for not letting Gabby go anywhere, except once or twice she had let the girl accompany her and Hotch on grocery shopping trips, but Emily knew that wasn't enough entertainment for a nine-year-old.

"I don't know," Emily said, not noticing her voice had began to crack. "I think we should give it a little while longer before we go do something like that," Emily continued, as she continued brushing Gaby's dark hair back with her fingers.

Gabby sat up quickly, and proceeded to stand up in front of Emily, hands on her hips and wearing a glare that mirrored Hotch's.

"That's not fair!" Gabby said, stomping a foot down. Though it was immature, she didn't really seem to care at the moment. "You don't ever let me do anything! We used to do stuff all the time, especially go walk in the park. I miss it, and I'm tired of being stuck inside all the time. I can only watch movies for so long before I get bored!" Gabby said.

"I know, I know," Emily said, wishing she could do more to comfort her daughter.

"We've been here for over two weeks. If the bad guy was going to do anything, he would have by now! Why can't you just let me go to the park? Jack gets to leave, Daddy lets him go fun places!" Gabby continued arguing.

"No, Gabby," Emily said firmly. "We're not going to the park, I'm sorry," she said.

Gabby huffed, and turned to march up the stairs, but Emily stopped her.

"Go tell Penelope thank you for bringing you this bracelet making kit," Emily said.

Gabby marched into the kitchen, re-emerging a few moments later, a scowl directed at Emily, then she made her way-very loudly- up the stairs, and slammed the door closed.

Seconds later, Garcia emerged from the kitchen, wearing a look of distress upon her face.

"I'm so sorry!" she said. "I didn't mean to cause this huge fuss! We were just talking and she mentioned the park in Paris and I mentioned I pass one on the way here… I didn't know it would lead to this. Oh, goodness!" Garcia said, her voice getting higher in pitch with each sentence.

"No, Garcia," Emily said, standing to hug the woman. "It's fine, she's a kid. She likes being outside, and I'm too afraid to let her," Emily said. "I feel bad, but as her mother her safety is my number one,"

"I understand, I'm still so sorry. We were all having a lovely afternoon," the blonde said, removing her hot pink glasses from her face as she wiped her eyes free of tears that had fallen.

"Don't cry, Pen," Emily said softly. "It's okay, she won't stay mad forever. She has to like me, I feed her," Emily joked, making a small smile form on Penelope's lips.

"If you're sure," Garcia said. "I still think I'll go ahead and leave though, but I'll come back soon, whenever you and your lover boy over there deem it okay," she said, pulling Emily in for another hug, as Hotch stood to do the same for Garcia.

They said their goodbyes, and as soon as Garcia closed the door, Emily sat on the couch, her head in her hands.

Hotch went to sit next to her, rubbing a hand up and down her back comfortingly.

"You know," he said. "Maybe you could start out by enrolling her in school here, to make her feel like she's getting her life back to normal," Hotch suggested.

"No, absolutely not. I can continue to teach her like I have been, plus, she was already ahead of most of the kids in her grade anyway, so she has time to fall back a bit," Emily snapped.

"Come on, Em," Hotch tried again. "Every kid goes to school," he told her.

"And how many schools did _we _have to go to because a child was taken right off the playground? Or out of the pick-up liked after school? Or some other terrifying way? No. I will not have it!"

"Em, she'll be safe. We'll send her to whatever school you think is the safest. We'll be sure to let her teacher, and all the administrators know that _only _you, JJ, or I is allowed to pick her up, and she is to be carefully watched when outside. It's been done, it'll be fine," Hotch said.

"I don't know. Maybe," Emily said, relaxing a bit more. "But that's _not _a yes so don't you dare go looking up schools without me," she said.

"I won't, I promise," he said sincerely.

"Okay, well how do we go about getting her to not be so mad at me?" Emily said. "I was pretty mean… I wasn't trying to be. I just- I can't stand the thought of her just being snatched right out from under me. You and I both know that being careful isn't enough," she said, lifting her head up out of her hands.

"And you should know that remaining so paranoid all the time isn't going to help anything," he told her, lightly kissing her cheek. "Also, I don't think she'll be mad forever,"

"Would she listen to you? If you explained why I'm being so crazy?" Emily asked.

"She might. Do you want me to go try?"

"Yes," Emily said. "Please,"

"Then consider it done," Hotch said, rising from the couch, and venturing up the stairs to Gabby's room. Emily went into the kitchen and began to clean, though everything was spotless as Garcia had cleaned up all remains of the bracelet making. She scrubbed the already clean dishes, and wiped off the spotless countertops, just hoping Gabby wouldn't continue to stay mad.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Hotch lightly tapped on Gabby's bedroom door.

"Who is it?" he heard a little voice ask.

"It's me," Hotch said. "Can I come in?"

When he heard Gabby's approval, he opened the door and let himself in the room, closing the door behind her before sitting on the bed next to her. She was propped up on the bed with two pillows in tan pillowcases, her legs bent at the knees in front of her, and an old, nearly raggedy teddy bear sat in Gabby's lap.

"Hey, kiddo," he said. "Are you doing okay up here?"

Gabby nodded, but Hotch knew she was lying.

"You know the only reason your Mama's acting so crazy, right?"

Gabby sighed. "To protect me. I know. I know she's worried, and I shouldn't have got so mad at her, but I just miss not having to worry all the time," Gabby said sadly.

"I'm sure she'll come around, okay? She won't keep you locked in here forever," Hotch promised.

Gabby leaned in closer to Hotch, and he wrapped his arms around her.

"You know what?" she said, perking up a bit.

"What's that?"

"This might be bad, so don't tell Mama, but, even though we're only here because of that bad man finding us, I am still glad we're here. Because now I get to see you every day," Gabby said quietly.

"You know what? All things considering, I'm glad both of you are here too," he said back to her as she hugged him.

After they sat there a few more minutes, Hotch spoke up again. "You know, you might want to go see your Mama in a few minutes, she's worried you'll be mad at her forever." he said.

"I will," Gabby said.

"You're much easier to calm down than most kids, you know that?" Hotch said.

"Mama said I've got more reasoning than most kids my age. She says I get that from you," Gabby said.

Hotch didn't say anything, he just smiled, and wondered how he'd gotten so lucky to not only have a wonderful son like Jack in his life, but also a wonderful daughter like Gabby.


	11. Chapter 11

**There's not much to say for this one, really. Thanks as always for your reviews and story alerts, etc. They keep me motivated to write! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

"Do you think I'm being overly paranoid?" Emily asked JJ over the phone the next morning. Jack was at school, and Gabby insisted on helping Hotch make breakfast, so the brunette had the upstairs all to her self. She'd taken the opportunity to call up her best friend and tell her what had happened with Gabby the previous night.

"No," JJ confirmed on the other end of the line. "I think a mother's intuition is always right," she added. "Also, if you ask me, don't you think Hotch is being a little... I don't know careless?"

Emily sighed. "I don't know if if carelessness so much as it is...I don't know what to call it. I mean, I've honestly only let Gabby out of the house twice since we've been here. That's not really fair to her, its driving her insane. She loves being outside, experiencing the world. I feel almost mean for letting her miss out on it, you know? And I know Aaron wants to spend time with her before she gets into the teenager stage. She's got a few years, but he's got so many more to make up for, and there's only so much you can do sitting inside. But there's just that gut feeling there that never goes away," Emily confided.

"This all is your decision, Em," JJ said. "But I think taking her somewhere might be good for all of you. Maybe just to a museum or a movie. Nowhere too crowded. I'll even come too, just to have an extra set of eyes if you want. But like I said, its all up to you,"

"There's so many museums here Gabby would just love to see, she's been looking some of them up online. There's one in particular not too far from here, actually," Emily stated, switching her phone from one ear or the other. "I'll talk to Aaron about it, though. I'll let you know,"

"Okay, no rush though, Em. Don't feel pressured to do anything. I know this is gonna sound kind of cliche and lame, but: safety first!"

Emily had to giggle softly at that. "I know, I know. Thanks Jayje,"

"Don't even worry about it," JJ said back.

"I'll call you back later, okay? Tell Henry hi for me,"

"Will do,"

After the two of them hung up, Emily went into the bathroom just across the hall. She tied her hair back with a hair tie before she went to wash her face as she did every morning. After she had done so, and had wiped off the remaining water with a towel, she looked at herself in the mirror. She found herself staring back at the reflection for longer than usual, her forehead creasing more with each passing moment.

She realized she no longer recognized the person staring back at her. Sure, the basics of Emily Prentiss, or Marie Blanchard, who whoever she'd presented herself to be over the last ten years, were there. The dark hair, a shade or two lighter now; the dark brown eyes; the facial features; the height. All of those things were familiar. But the tiny frame, she couldn't remember the last time she'd been so skinny. The ever present slouuching of the shoulders had never seemed to be a constant. The worst thing, Emily felt, was the sadness that loomed over her face. Her eyes were red where they should have been white, they were glassy like they used to get when the team had just finished working a long case. Her cheeks were sunken in, and though she had always been pale, she had never noticed it so clearly as she did now.

She didn't know who she was, and it scared her. She couldn't believe she had let it go this far, that she had let Gabby see her this way. They had only been back in the States for 3 weeks, and Emily could see the physical changes the whole mess had brought upon her. She decided, then and there, that she needed to do better. She needed to take better care of herself. Emily sucked in a breath, and held her shoulders back as she once had. She straightened the hemline of her shirt, pushed her hair back behind her ears, and carried herself out of the room and down the stairs.

"Good morning!" She said in a sing-song voice as she reached the kitchen.

"Morning!" Hotch said back, turning to kiss her when she approached him.

"I'm glad you guys are together again, but that's gross," Gabby giggled, rolling her eyes as Emily turned to be closer to her.

"You can close your eyes," Emily joked, ruffling the girl's messy hair, lightly kissing the top of her head. "Good morning, by the way,"

"Morning," Gabby returned the greeting.

"What are you guys making?" Emily asked.

"Can't tell you, it's a surprise!" Gabby said excitedly. "Go over there so you don't see,"

"You got it," Emily replied, making herself comfortable on the couch in the living room, turning the television on to something she could watch without paying too much attention to it.

A few minutes later, Gabby walked into the living room, a silver tray in her hands. Hotch followed closely behind, a mug and pot of coffee in his hands.

Emily smiled as Gabby sat the tray in front of her. "You guys didn't have to do all this, you know," she said.

Hotch set the coffee pot down on the small coffee table in front of Emily, placing the white ceramic mug next to it.

"You may wanna turn around, Gabby," Hotch said, leaning into Emily for a kiss. They heard a small giggle from the girl as they broke apart.

"You're too good to me," Emily stated.

"It was Gabby's idea," Hotch told her.

"I wanted to say I was sorry for yelling last night," Gabby said shyly, dragging her foot across the floor in front of her, stuffing her hands in the pockets of her light orange hoodie.

"Its okay," Emily said, outstretching her arms to hug the young girl. "You guys didn't have to bring breakfast to me, though. I could have come to the kitchen. Besides, you need to eat too," she added.

"Actually, Daddy and I planned on bringing ours in here too,"

That's just what they did, and the three of them had a wonderful time together, as a little family. Of course, the family would have been completed had Jack been there.

Hotch and Emily exchanged glances several times through out the meal. Hotch was seated in the recliner across from the couch, which sat Emily by the arm and Gabby right beside her. Gabby kept them both laughing with her bubbly personality, telling them stories that were too ridiculous to be true, but they both played along anyway.

After they had finished eating, and everything was cleaned, Gabby went upstairs to change out of her pajamas and brush her teeth and hair, per Emily's suggestion. She wanted to talk to Hotch about something, but she didn't want Gabby to hear until the decision had been made.

"Can we talk?" Emily asked once she was sure Gabby was out of ear shot.

"Of course," Hotch replied, leading Emily back into the living room and onto the couch. "You okay?" He asked, taking her hand in his, resting them on her knee.

"I've been thinking really hard about what all was said last night," Emily started. "And I do think what we're doing is the safest thing to do for Gabby. But, its not fair to keep her cooped up inside all the time. She's a kid, and one who has always loved being outside. Plus, I know there are a lot of things you'd like to do with her. I know she's been looking up some of the museums around for the past few days, and she seemed most intrigued by the National Aquiarium," Emily told him, looking up from their intertwined fingers to meet his eye, smiling when she saw the light in his eyes.

"I think...maybe tomorrow we could go?" She added. "Its Saturday, Jack could come too, if he wanted. And JJ, you know, for an extra set of eyes in case anything happens," she finished.

Hotch smiled in a way she hadn't seen in years. "I think that would be great," he said, kissing her hand softly. "Really, really great, actually. She'll love it there," He told her happily.

"Okay, good," Emily confirmed. "I promise I'll try not to be _too _crazy,"

"I love you, you know that right?" He told her.

"Actually no, I'm not too sure I do know," she responded, her voice low.

"Should I prove it to you?" he asked playfully into her ear, softly kissing her jawline.

"Later," she giggled. "Like tonight," she said, running her fingers through his hair.

"I'm gonna hold you to that,"

She kissed his lips and stood from the couch, taking his hand in hers.

"Come on, let's go tell Gabby the news," she told him.

"Okay," he agreed, as he stood too and the two of them made their way, hand in hand up the stairs to their daughter's room.

"Can we come in?" Emily asked, though the door was already opened.

"Sure," Gabby said, pulling on her socks.

Emily and Hotch sat on the bed, and Hotch motioned for Gabby to come sit in between them.

"Your Dad and I have a surprise for you," Emily said.

"Really? What is it?" The girl asked excitedly, her young eyes wide with wonder. Emily smiled, remembering the time in her life that felt like ages ago when her eyes did the very same thing.

"Well..." Hotch continued, Gabby spun her head around to face him.

"Your mama and I know you've been looking up some of the museums around town, and you seem to really want to visit the Aquarium, right?" he asked.

"I would love to someday," Gabby said, fidgeting slightly in her seat.

'What are you doing tomorrow?" Emily asked.

Gabby hopped off the bed and turned to face both her her parents, her mouth hanging open.

"You mean we're actually going to go?" Gabby asked.

"Yes, we are!" Emily confirmed. "If Jack wants to go, he'll come too. Also I think JJ is going to come too,"

"Really?" Gabby asked, throwing her arms around both Emily's and Hotch's necks.

"Really," Emily told her happily.

"Oh, it's going to be so much fun! Thank you!" The young girl said excitedly.

"You're welcome,_ mon chere"_ Emily replied, embracing her in a hug. When she let go, Hotch did the same thing.

"I can't wait!" Gabby said happily. "They have _alligators _there! Can we go look at them?" she asked.

"We will go look at everything," Hotch promised. "But especially the alligators," he winked.

Gabby smiled back at them, apparently too excited to say anything more, as she quickly skipped out of the room exclaiming that she was going to go look at the website that Emily had bookmarked for her on Hotch's laptop a few days ago.

"She's something else," Hotch said, shaking his head.

"She really is," Emily agreed. "And," she added after a moment of silence. "I think she'll be too preoccupied for awhile looking at all the things she wants to do tomorrow, so I figure we'll have some time to ourselves..." she told him, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you suggesting?" Hotch asked her, pretending he didn't already know.

"Why don't you follow me into your bedroom and I'll show you?" she said, going to stand in the doorway, motioning for him to follow her with her index finger. "Come on, you're wasting time," she said.

"Okay, okay, I'm coming," Hotch said, getting up off the bed and following Emily out in the hall.

"Yeah, you better be," Emily said, grinning wildly as she closed the door to the bedroom behind them once they'd made it inside.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

The next morning, Gabby woke up early, and got herself dressed and ready to go to the Aquarium with her family. She wasn't allowed to took anything without an adult with her, so instead she poured the three people who remained upstairs sleeping a bowl of cereal, and then she headed up the stairs and into Hotch's bedroom, which as of the previous day, had become Hotch and Emily's room. She opened the door slowly, to prevent any creaking the hinges might produce. She found both of her parents sleeping in the bed inside the room.

Gabby crawled up on the bed, settling herself in the middle of her parents.

Emily was the first of the two to wake up, and she rolled over so she was face to face with their daughter.

"Hi," Gabby said grinning.

"Morning," Emily said quietly, glancing at the clock that was next to Hotch on the other side of the bed. "It's not even 8 yet, are you okay?"

Gabby nodded her head. "I made you and Daddy and Jack breakfast!" she said a little louder than she meant to, causing Hotch to wake up now. "Oops," she said.

"I can't imagine why you're up so early," Hotch said sleepily. "Is there something going on today?" he joked, glancing over at Emily.

"Hmm," Emily pretended to think. "You know, I really don't think there is," she said.

"Yes there is!" Gabby said, laughing at her parents. "We're going to the Aquarium, remember? Jack even said he would come! And JJ too!"

"Oh, was that today?" Hotch said. "Well, I guess we'll squeeze in some time for it, if we _have _to,"

"You're silly," Gabby stated simply. "Anyway, I made you guys cereal! Now go eat it before it gets icky," she instructed. "I'll go wake Jack up," she said, crawling over Emily to get off the bed.

"Ow, I'm under there you know," Emily told her, bringing a hand to her head Gabby had managed to accidentally kick in the process.

"Sorry!" she said, making her way out of the room and down the hall to Jack's room.

She quietly opened the already cracked door, noting that Jack was still asleep. She tip-toed over to the bed and gently shook his shoulder.

"Jack," she whispered, but she got no response. "Jack," she tried again, a bit louder. He stirred this time, and opened his eyes.

"Hi!" Gabby said. "We're going to the Aquarium today," she reminded him.

"Yes we are," Jack said, grabbing his phone off his nightstand and unlocking it to check the time. "I thought we were leaving at 10?" He asked, noting the incredibly early hour.

"We are," Gabby said. "But I woke up early because I was excited. And I made you and Mama and Daddy breakfast," she said. "It's just cereal though 'cause I'm not allowed to cook anything by myself. Are you mad that I woke you so early?" she asked, worried he might be.

Jack just smiled at her. "No, I'm not mad. Why don't you go find Dad... and your Mom and I'll be down in a few minutes?" he suggested.

"Okay!" Gabby agreed, spinning around and walking out of the room. Even though Jack had to admit that he wasn't completely on board with the idea of Emily suddenly coming back into his life, bringing along his little sister with her, and knowing his dad had lied to him at first, he also had to admit that now, even if he still wasn't completely comfortable with it, he was growing on the idea. It was incredibly nice having Emily back, she was just as pretty and nice as Jack had remembered. And as far as little kids go, Gabby was actually a lot of fun and not_ as _annoying as some he knew.

So, even though the teenager would have much rather have had a couple more hours of sleep, he got up and got himself dressed and went downstairs to eat the bowl of cereal Gabby had made for him.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Finally, they had all arrived at the Aquarium. JJ had met them at their house, and they had all ridden in Hotch's SUV. It was a bit tight trying to fit everyone inside, but they all managed to ride comfortably. The entire drive, Gabby talked to them constantly, not letting anyone else get a word in edge wise.

The five of them had gotten their tickets and were inside, and Emily was feeling incredibly anxious. She couldn't help but feel a sense of excitement when she looked down and how happy Gabby was, she could hardly stand still as Emily tightly held onto her hand, but Emily was also terrified. There were more people here than she had been expecting, which made her feel like she needed to watch everyone extra carefully.

She looked to JJ and then to Hotch, both giving her nods of assurance. She knew with all three of them watching out for Gabby, and Jack being there too, it would be a memorable day for many reasons, and none of them would be anything but positive. Taking a breath, she braced herself to mentally give the ones she loved a good day as Gabby began pulling Emily towards the many exhibits.

They five of them found themselves stunned by the plethora of species and colors the Aquarium seemed to create. Gabby had started out counting all the different types of fish she saw, but she claimed she lost count after 100. Emily laughed at that, knowing she was actually telling the truth because the girl had counted that high out loud where everyone could hear.

"You've seen about half of them!" One of the workers at the Aquarium had said, who overheard Gabby's counting.

"Half?" Gabby gasped in disbelief. "Wow, that's a lot of fish!" she said. "Mama, can I buy an Aquarium?" she asked excitedly.

"I don't know about getting an _entire _Aquarium as big as this all to yourself, but maybe we'll look into getting you a few fish sometime, okay?" Emily said.

"Okay," Gabby agreed. "But when I grow up, I'm getting one like this," She added, causing everyone in the group to laugh at her.

They had stopped to eat lunch in the cafe before heading to their final two destinations. The only thing they had left to view were what Gabby was most excited about, the alligators. On their way out, Hotch promised Gabby a trip to the gift shop.

"Okay, okay let's go see the alligators!" Gabby said after she had eaten her chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese meal much quicker than she normally would have.

Impatiently, the nine-year-old waited a few more minutes for everyone else to be finished, but they were finally on their way. They turned down the necessary hallways, passing by some exhibits they had already seen. They reached the exhibit which housed the large reptiles, and Gabby tried to run ahead of Emily, but the older brunette grabbed her hand before she could do so.

"I promise you they aren't going anywhere," Emily reminded the girl.

Gabby couldn't believe how big the alligators were once they finally located them. She spent several minutes oohing and ahhing over their size. She and Hotch made a bet on which alligator was the biggest, and Gabby won with her guess after they asked the person working in that exhibit.

Emily smiled the entire time, and knew knew just by watching Gabby and Hotch's interactions with one another that she had definitely made the right choice by bringing Gabby here.

After spending a good while at the alligators, the group of 5 found themselves at the gift shop, where Gabby was allowed to pick something out. The gift shop was rather small, so Emily allowed Gabby to walk around without holding her hand, but of course she stayed right behind Gabby just in case.

Gabby was browsing through the stuffed animals, though Emily wasn't surprised. They had always been her favorite thing to play with, and the girl hadn't been able to bring any of them with her when they left France. Since Gabby was stationed by the stuffed animals, Emily found herself looking through the books sitting around the shop. She picked up a book that went along with the animated movie _Finding Nemo _and found herself reading it. Though she had seen the movie with Gabby before, she had always zoned out at some point during the movie, so she had never sat and watched the whole movie from beginning to end. In some ways, though it may have been a bit crazy to some, she found herself relating to the story. The father in the story had swam for miles and miles to find his son who had gotten lost. He stopped at nothing to make sure he got his son back safely. Though Emily had Gabby with her, she knew she would do whatever it took to keep it that way. She smiled to herself as she sat the book back on the shelf.

She jumped sightly when Hotch came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her middle.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," he said lowly.

"It's okay,"

"Has Gabby picked out anything yet?" he asked.

"I don't know, she's right over there by the stuffed animals," Emily told him.

Hotch glanced up and scanned the area. "You sure?" he asked. "I don't see her,"

Emily felt everything inside her body go cold. "What- what do you mean? She's right there!" Emily said, pushing free from Hotch's embrace quickly running over to where she thought Gabby was. But she wasn't. Instincts kicking in, Emily scanned the rest of the store. She asked JJ and Jack if they had seen her, but they hadn't. She checked the bathrooms, and she asked the cashiers. No one had seen her. Emily tried to keep herself from having a panic attack. She couldn't do that here, she wouldn't. She kept herself calm on the outside, but on the inside she was freaking out. How could Gabby be dare she think it, _missing? _Emily had been mere feet away from her. It didn't make sense. Something didn't add up. She and Hotch decided to search one side of the aquarium, and JJ searched the other. Jack stayed in the store in case Gabby came back when her name was announced over the speakers like the Aquarium workers said they would do. As she and Hotch ran around, checking every small place Gabby could hide in, every exhibit they passed, asking everyone of they'd seen her, Emily found herself simply praying for the first time in she didn't know how long. All she wanted was to find Gabby, it was the only thing on her mind.


	12. Chapter 12

**Well apparently, being at home sick for two days gives me the motivation to write! ;) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM. **

**-kbrewster.**

Emily couldn't see, she couldn't think. She could hardly even breathe. Her little girl was missing, and all she could do was blame herself. It was her fault, after all. At least, that's what she'd convinced herself as she continued checking the entire Aquarium's square footage in search of the nine-year-old. She had been so careful all day, she'd let her guard down for one minute, and in that minute her entire world was flipped upside down.

Hotch and an Aquarium employee had been trailing Emily, but she didn't know if they still were. She'd stopped looking back to check awhile ago. They were only slowing her down, anyway. She kept calling the girl's name, not in anger, but desperation. Where the hell could she have been taken? Security cameras had been checked, there was no sign of Gabby e

Just when Emily was about to really, truly lose it, she saw something that made her heartbeat increase, and this time not out of fear; but out of hope. She saw something moving in the shadows, hunkered down in the corner of a dark exhibit, directly between two benches. She didn't think, she just made a run for it.

"Gabby? Gabby, is that you?" Emily asked, crouching down in front of the child, who was obviously none other than her daughter. Her knees here brought up to her chest, her arms wrapped around them, and her head resting atop her knees.

However, the girl didn't respond she just sat there, completely still.

Emily instantly grew worried. "Its me, ma chere, it's Mommy," Emily prodded gently, rubbing a hand up and down Gabby's arm.

This time, the girl looked up, eyes red and glassy, sure signs of crying. Almost hesitantly, Gabby crawled out of the corner of the dark exhibit, looking around wildly. Emily knew by the girl's actions that something definitely happened in the hour and a half she'd been missing. Emily instinctively took Gabby in her arms, picking her up with her as she stood.

She felt Hotch run up beside her, wrapping his arms around the both of them. "Oh, thank God," he breathed. Shedding tears was a rare occurrence, and right now was one of those times. He was so happy they'd found Gabby, that she was back where she belonged. He hadn't even noticed the young girl had not said a word since he'd been there. He went to stand behind Emily so he could face Gabby, who's head rested on Emily's shoulder.

"Hi, sweetie," he said calmly. "Are you okay?"

Gabby didn't respond verbally, instead she twisted her head around the other way she she was no longer facing her father.

"Let's just get out of here," Emily said. "we need to get her home,"

"Okay, sounds like a plan. You take her out to the car, and I'll get JJ and Jack," Hotch said, kissing both Emily and Gabby's heads, turning abruptly and walking towards the other side of the Aquarium, where both JJ and Jack were.

"Come on, sweet girl, let's go to the car and wait for everybody else," Emily said, walking out of the Aquarium, thanking each employee for their help on the way out. She found their car, thankful that despite the crowd, they had been able to park relatively close to the entrance. She pulled the car keys out of her pocket, and unlocked the doors. She opened the back door, carefully sitting Gabby in the seat. Gabby crossed her arms in response as Emily got in, too, crawling over Gabby to sit next to her.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Emily asked softly, brushing the girl's hair back that had fallen out of the elastic that had been holding her hair up.

Gabby shook her head. "I just want to go home,"

"We will, I promise. But honey, I need to know where you were. Where did you go? I'm not mad at you, I promise," Emily tried coaxing. She watched as the girl bit her lip, a bad habit she'd picked up from her mother no doubt.

"Can I tell you at home?" Gabby asked quietly.

"Sure, if you'll feel more comfortable there," Emily agreed.

"I'm sorry," Gabby whispered quietly, uncrossing her arms and sitting herself in Emily's lap. Emily's heart nearly broke, watching her daughter be so upset and not knowing what was causing it. Gabby sat with Emily until they arrived home; refusing to move once Hotch, JJ, and Jack arrived out at the car. And Emily, frankly, didn't have the heart to make her move.

When they arrived back at home, Emily carried the girl inside. She took the girl up to her room, and sat her on the bed. She sat on the bed next to the girl, who had laid down when Emily turned to shut the door. Absentmindedly, Emily took the elastic out of Gabby's hair, and began to run her fingers through it.

"Do you want to talk about it now?" Emily asked quietly after a few minutes of quiet.

"I can't tell you," Gabby said.

"Yes, you can. You can tell me anything, you know that," Emily said. Gabby had never acted this way before, and it was scaring Emily to death.

"No!" Gabby protested, swatting Emily's hand away and rolling over on her stomach to bury her face in the pillow. Emily could tell by Gabby's breathing that she was crying.

Placing a hand on Gabby's back, Emily sighed quietly. She had always been able to get through to Gabby. This was the first time since Gabby had learned to talk she had ever told Emily she couldn't talk to her. However, when Emily tried to get up from her spot on the bed to give Gabby some time alone to let the girl come to her, Gabby had fervently protested the idea.

"I don't want to be alone," she'd said in the smallest voice Emily had ever heard.

After a few more minutes of silence, Emily got an idea.

"If you can't tell me what happened, do you think you could show me?"

Gabby finally turned back over to face Emily, nodding her head. Her eyes were still sad.

"Okay, do you want to write it out or would you rather draw it?" Emily questioned, standing from the bed and rummaging through the drawer in Gabby's nightstand that housed paper, pens, crayons, and markers.

Gabby shrugged her shoulders in response, so Emily gave the girl three big sheets of white paper, a pen, and several different colored markers.

"Do you wanna do that while I go talk to your Dad for a few minutes? He's worried about you," Emily said.

Gabby glanced around the room a few times before finally agreeing, she set to work as Emily quietly walked out of the room, keeping the door open in case Gabby called for her. She held on to the banister of the stairs for dear life, as if it was the only thing steadying Emily's shaking body. When she made it to the living room, she saw Hotch sitting on the couch, tapping his foot on the wooden floor lightly. She noted Jack seated in the recliner doing the same thing.

She cleared her throat to announce her presence, and both Hotchners looked up at her, eyes wide.

"Is she okay? What happened?" Hotch asked.

"I...I really don't know," Emily said, flinging herself down on the couch next to Hotch. "She won't talk to me, she's always been able to talk to me, Aaron. Ever since she was little, she's never hesitated to talk to me. I don't know how to help her," Emily said sadly, slouching down a bit to rest her elbows on her thighs, propping her chin up with her hands. "She's writing it down for me now, though. Whatever happened scared her to death. Its all my fault," Emily sighed, tears threatened to fall from her dark brown eyes.

"No, Em, no," Hotch said gently. "None of this is your fault. You were right there. It could've happened to anyone,"

"No," Emily protested firmly. "No, it couldn't have because Ian Doyle's not after anyone else!"

"We don't know it was him," Hotch reminded her calmly.

"Ugh, just stop!" Emily begged. "Stop being so...so _insensitive_! You know damn well it was him, and you know damn well if I hadn't been so careless for those few minutes, it wouldn't have happened at all! I was so careful all day. I made sure it was virtually impossible to have anything happen to Gabby. But I let myself, for one tiny little second, forget. I let myself get too comfortable, and I just thought of us as a family. A normal family who goes on outings like this all the time, not a family who's terrified to let their daughter out of their sight because a terrorist is after her!" Emily was full on crying now, not even trying to stop the tears. She was surprised when she felt not one, but two people wrap an arm around her shoulder. She looked up, as her head had been in her hands, and noticed Hotch on her left, which she expected. What she didn't expect, was Jack to be perched on the arm of the couch on her right, with his arm wrapped around her tightly, almost protectively.

Emily sniffed, and gave Jack the tiniest of smiles. Though he hadn't been completely anti-social around her anymore, this was the most he had reached out since she and Gabby had come back.

"Please don't blame yourself," the 17 year old said calmly. "The important thing is, we got her back, right?"

Emily didn't know what to do, or what to say, so she simply nodded her head. She felt her heart swell when Jack hugged her tightly, something he hadn't done since he was a little kid with missing teeth and action figures. Emily cried more, now as she returned the hug. She had certainly missed the sandy-haired boy.

Minutes later, when Emily was a bit calmer, she went up to Gabby's room to check on the girl. When she entered the room, she saw Gabby sitting on the edge of the bed, the papers she had used neatly stacked next to her.

"You all done, Gabby?" Emily asked quietly, to which she received a nod. "Okay," she said, seating herself next to the stack of three papers, taking them into her hands.

She felt her heart stop when she saw what Gabby had done. Gabby had drawn herself standing in front of a man. Though Gabby had properly labeled him, ("Bad Man," of course as Gabby didn't know Doyle's name) Emily would have known it was Doyle, because Gabby had drawn him with bright, shining blue eyes. He was wearing an Aquarium employee uniform. That made Emily cringe.

Under that drawing, Gabby had written in French, as she claimed it was easier to write in: "I left the gift shop even though I know I was not supposed to. I went back to see the alligators, because I couldn't remember what that really big ones name was. I thought it was right there, but I got really lost. Then the bad man found me, but I did not know he was bad. He had the uniform on. I thought he was going to take me back, but he made me follow him. He said if I screamed or ran away he would hurt you." Emily felt sick, and the feeling only intensified as she went to the next page.

There, the scribbly penmanship continued.

"After that, he took me into a closet. He said if I tried to escape I would regret it, that he would kill you. But I was so scared, and I just wanted to find you. So I found out how to unlock the door from the inside, and I ran away. I hid between the benches until you found me. I'm scared he's going to come back."

Emily really felt sick now. She held back her tears, biting her lip and taking a deep breath. She sat the papers on the bed, taking Gabby into her arms.

"You did the right thing, ma chere," Emily whispered. "Everything's going to be fine," she said. Not because she believed it, but she knew its what she had to say, it was her job to make sure everything was okay.

"But what if he comes here?" Gabby questioned, clinging to her mother in the same way she had when she'd started kindergarten.

"No, no," Emily assured her. "We're going to get some help, now," Emily told the girl. "We're going to get some help, and he's going to go away for a very, very long time," she wasn't sure if she was trying to convince herself of Gabby more.

She would never admit it to Gabby, but Emily knew she wasn't Doyle's target. Gabby was. She knew that he knew she'd rather die than have anything happen to her daughter. After all, she'd risked her life to save Declan once before. She'd do it all over again if she had to.

Just then, Hotch entered the room. He took a seat next to Emily, who held Gabby close with one hand as she handed the papers with Gabby's story to him.

Once Hotch had read the story, he looked at Emily. She couldn't tell what he was thinking the most. He looked angry, upset, and terrified all at once.

"We can get the help we've been needing now," he said. "This is the solid proof they've been wanting. It'll all be over soon. Especially since she escaped. He messed up somewhere. I don't think letting her go was part of the plan. It just doesn't fit with his level of anger," Hotch said, putting his profiling skills that had become like a second nature to him back to good use.

"Can we not discuss this in front of her, please?" Emily asked, covering Gabby's ear with her hand as the girl leaned into her mother. "I just don't want to scare her more,"

"Sure," Hotch agreed, putting an arm around Emily. "We'll talk more later," he promised.

Just then, Jack quietly knocked on the door frame.

"Emily?" He said softly.

"Yeah, Jack?" She replied.

"Uh, Spencer's on the phone for you," he muttered quietly.

"_Spencer Reid_?" Emily gasped, her eyes growing wide, feeling er whole body go numb when Jack nodded his head, confirming what she already knew.

o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.o.O.o.O.o.

Ian Doyle was furious. He finally had what he came for, and she'd managed to smart her way out of it. Just like her mother, he thought bitterly. He paced the length of his hotel room, sending a glare towards Paul. He'd given the guy one job. Just one. Make sure the girl stays put. He went to pull his SUV around, going slowly and carefully to avoid suspicion. In that short amount of time, Paul had managed to not only lose the girl, but also not make any attempts to get her back. She was a child, for God's sake! Surely Paul could've ran after her.

"I ought to put a hole right in your stupid, pathetic skull!" Ian shouted, banging his fist on the small table in the corner of the room. "I gave you what I thought was a simple job, and you couldn't do it! Even if the girl doesn't go crying to her mother and telling her everything, she'll figure it out! Then what, Paul? We're caught. You're in jail, and God knows what they do with me,"

"I'm sor-"

"_No_!" Ian screamed. "I don't want to hear an apology from you! That's not going miraculously make this okay!" Ian said, feeling the rage grow inside of him. He marched out of the room quickly, not allowing it to get too ugly. He went to his own hotel room just a few doors down. He slammed the door behind him and went straight for the refrigerator. He grabbed whatever alcohol he still had remaining and downed a glass in no time flat.

He was so angry, he didn't know what to do next. He found his thoughts drifting back to over twenty years ago, when Chloe was expecting Declan. He recalled how she tried to kill herself, and Declan. She'd never wanted a child, and especially not his. But then, four years later, here came Lauren Reynolds, who wasn't actually Lauren at all. But he'd fallen for it. He'd let Declan fall for it, too. What pissed Ian off most, so much he felt his whole body start to shake, was that Emily had wanted Declan. He could tell by the way they played together, by the way she talked to him. A lot of things may have been lies during that time of their life, but you can't fake that. Emily treated Declan like he was her own son. She protected him, loved him, and had even sent him away so he wouldn't be used as a pawn just to make Ian talk.

He felt his anger increasing. Why couldn't Chloe have been that loving and caring? Why couldn't Lauren have been real? Why didn't he see through Lauren to Emily? Why did she get to be the hero, and he be the bad guy? Now, she had a child of her own. One Ian knew meant more than life to Emily. She'd taken his son from him, so why shouldn't he be able to take her child from her?

He threw the glass at the wall, watching it shatter to pieces. He couldn't be bothered to clean it yet, instead he tried to compose himself, and he left the room. He knew what needed to be done now, and he would do it on his own. He didn't need Paul anymore. He was going to finish what he had started, no matter what it took.


	13. Chapter 13

**Well... nobody hurt me. That's all I have to say haha. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

Emily sat on the bed, Gabby still in her lap as she tried to process what Jack had said. How did Reid even know she was still alive? How did he know she was back? Her mind flooded with questions she wasn't sure she was ready to hear be answered. Jack handed her the phone he was holding in his hand, and she brought it to her ear, shifting Gabby in her lap so she could do so. She sat with her mouth agape for a few seconds, what was she supposed to say after ten years? What was an appropriate greeting for something like that?

"R-Reid?" she stuttered slightly, deciding that was the simplest thing she could say.

"So it _is _true," she heard the familiar voice on the end of the line. She couldn't tell if his tone was one of anger or just plain sadness.

"Reid," Emily said, her voice cracking. "We were going to tell you, it's just been… it's been crazy," she decided on saying, not wanting to say anything more while Gabby was still present.

"Morgan called me awhile ago to tell me, but I didn't want to believe him," Reid said. "I didn't want to believe that I was lead to believe, for ten years, that you were gone. I had to _grieve _for you, Emily,"

"I know," Emily said, her voice barely above a whisper, as she bit on her bottom lip to keep her tears at bay. "I never wanted it to be like this, you know that right?"

"Nobody did,"

"Are you angry with me?" Emily asked timidly, feeling more like a child than she had in years. She took the silence that followed as a yes. Emily didn't know what to say, so instead she allowed the tears she had been trying to contain fall freely, wishing she had a third hand to wipe them away with.

Hotch gently took the phone from Emily's hand, turning away to talk to Reid. Emily wiped the tears away, not even hearing whatever Hotch was saying into the phone.

She turned her attention down to Gabby, wishing she wasn't crying.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked softly, avoiding looking Emily in the eye.

"I'm fine," Emily half-lied. "Reid is just an old friend of mine..." she trailed off, but Gabby picked right up.

"You mean from.. from before?"

"Yes, sweetheart," Emily confirmed. Gabby frowned slightly. "He shouldn't be mad at you, you're still here," she reasoned. Emily wished they could all have the resilience and mindset as Gabby. She gave the girl a small smile.

"Its not that simple," Emily told her.

"Well, it should be," Gabby said quietly. Though Emily said nothing, she agreed.

A few moments later, Emily heard Hotch hang up the phone. She had willed herself not to listen in for any of Hotch's side of the conversation, fearing for the worse.

"Before you ask," Hotch began. "He doesn't hate you. He wants you to know that. He's a little angry, but not necessarily at you. More towards JJ and I," he continued. "He's processing, and I think he really does understand why it had to turn out like it did, but when I asked if he wanted to visit, he said he no. He'll come around, though," Hotch encouraged.

"I guess that's a little better that I was expecting," Emily admitted. She sighed before adding, "Should we tell Rossi?"

"If you want, Dave is the only one who doesn't know," Hotch reminded her gently.

"Can you do it now? Before I chicken out?" Emily asked.

"You bet," Hotch said as he instantly started scrolling through his contacts on his phone, locating the desired number. As Emily heard Hotch begin to talk, she again opted to not actually listen in. She distracted herself by asking Gabby what she wanted for dinner, then by asking her if she'd like to help.

After a few moments of silence between them, Emily asked yet another question, this one more serious that the previous ones.

"Are you alright?" Emily asked. "You can be honest," She added quickly, knowing that Gabby was still shaken up, considering she hadn't expressed the slightest desire to get up out of Emily's lap.

Gabby nodded her head. "It was just...scary,"

"I know," Emily said, pulling Gabby a little closer. "But you're safe now,"

"I know," Gabby said, mirroring her mother's previous tone when she had used that exact phrase. "I promise I'm alright, Mama," Gabby said more seriously.

Emily smiled, knowing that even if Gabby didn't feel that way right now, that she would soon.

"Well," Hotch said, breaking the silence that had since occurred after he'd hung up the phone. "He's not mad. Not at all. Do you know what he said to me?"

"What?" Emily asked, letting out a breath she wasn't even aware she had been holding.

"He said he, and I quote, 'had an inkling all along,'" Hotch said, laughing lightly.

"Seriously?" Emily asked, finding herself laughing ever so softly as well. "You should...we should have him over soon, where's he living now?"

"Everywhere," Hotch said coolly. "Seriously. The man's got property everywhere,"

"Well, then, next time he's in this vicinity, we're having him over. That okay, Smarty Pants?" Emily asked.

"That's fine, Sarcasm Queen, "

"Weirdos," they heard Jack mutter jokingly from the door frame he'd been leaning on.

Feeling calmer than they had in the past few hours, they all headed into the kitchen, where Emily and Hotch worked together to make dinner, while Gabby decided to take it upon herself to teach Jack French in the living room. The two adults found themselves giggling to each other when they heard Gabby scolding Jack for mispronouncing a word, or not using the proper accent.

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The next three days went by smoothly, and now it was the middle of the week. Emily had been concerned about Gabby on Sunday, as the little girl had seemed to grow clingy and wasn't fond of the idea of Emily not being in her line of sight. However, by now, Gabby was back to her old self.

Emily was teaching Gabby, something she had taken upon herself to do every day since their return to the states. Gabby loved to learn, so Emily made sure despite her lack of public school attendance, she taught Gabby something new everyday. Currently, Emily was quizzing Gabby on her knowledge of her multiplication tables and spelling abilities.

Hotch had been going through paint samples all morning in his Study, picking out colors he thought Gabby might like. The room she had claimed as hers had previously been a guest room, so it was painted white, the colors of the room much too bland for a spunky girl like Gabby. He decided he wanted to let her pick out a color and get it painted the following weekend, hoping Emily would then take over the decorating portion as he wasn't so great at that.

He was so absorbed in what he was doing, he almost didn't hear his phone ringing on the desk next to him. He picked it up quickly, recognizing the number as Jack's school's number.

"Hello?" he answered, utterly confused as to why the school would be calling him in the middle of the day on a Wednesday.

The man on the other end of the line said he was from Jack's school, and that Jack was sick and needed a way home, since they didn't allow any sick students to drive home. Hotch was wary at first, Jack had seemed fine this morning, but the number was definitely Jack's school, so he quickly hung up the phone and relayed the message to Emily.

He had to admit, he was hesitant to leave Emily and Gabby alone, but Emily insisted they would be fine for the time being, so Hotch left for Jack's school.

"Can we be done now Mama?" Gabby asked, slouching down in her seat at the kitchen table where Emily had been teaching her.

Emily smiled, closing the laptop they had been using. "We can stop for now, you did great today," Emily said, ruffling Gabby's hair lightly as she went to go put away the laptop.

She returned from the Study, to find Gabby sitting upside down on the couch, her legs up against the backrest and her head hanging off the seat, absorbed in a book. Emily laughed to herself. So, her daughter had wanted to stop her schooling for the day just to sit on the couch and read. She truly was her mother's daughter.

Just as Emily was about to sit next to Gabby, there was a knock at the door. Emily tensed up a bit, slowly and quietly making her way to the front door. She held her finger up to her lips when Gabby met her eye, signaling for the girl to stay quiet.

Emily looked in the peephole, thankful Hotch had one installed. She was horrified at the figure she saw standing at the door.

"Gabby, go upstairs to your room," Emily instructed, her voice just above a whisper.

"Why? Who is it?" Gabby questioned, closing her book and doing a back flip off the couch, landing right on her feet, something Emily would have ordinarily scolded her for doing.

"Gabby, just go, please," Emily said a bit more harshly than she meant to.

"I know you're in there, Love," she heard through the door. Her entire body froze, and a queasy feeling hit her instantly.

She turned towards Gabby, ushering her up the stairs quickly.

"Go to your room, baby. Don't come out until I come get you," Emily said, trying to stay calm and keep Gabby distracted. However Gabby was too perceptive, and knew right away who was there.

"He found us," Gabby whispered, obviously terrified.

"Let me handle it, okay? Go on," Emily said, leading the girl into her bedroom quickly, planting a kiss on her forehead before closing and locking the door behind her. The last thing she wanted to do was leave Gabby alone, but she had no other option. She had to get rid of Doyle.

She quietly crept down the stairs, though Ian was still knocking on the door, much more forcefully than he had done previously.

"Are you going to let me in, Love?" Ian said harshly. "Or are you going to make me come in there myself?"

Emily refused to speak back to him, it was a long shot she knew, but maybe she could really convince him they weren't at home.

The brunette was quietly searching around for the phone- she needed to call 911. She wished more more than ever that she was still an FBI Agent- she wouldn't need the help of 911.

Just as Emily found the house phone, somehow buried under the couch cushions even though the phone was hardly ever used anymore, she heard the sound of the door being broken down.

With shaking hands, she tried dialing the three simple numbers, but before she could, a hand wrapped around her wrist, twisting her arm behind her. The phone that had been in Emily's hand was thrown across the room, well out of Emily's reach.

"Hello, Love," Ian said lowly, directed in Emily's ear. Emily quickly wriggled her way out of Ian's graps, spinning around to face him.

"No, Ian, I'm _not _your love. You need to leave now," she said, trying to remain calm as she inched her way over to the phone.

"Not so fast," Ian said, beating her to her desired destination, taking the phone and putting it in the pocket of his jacket.

"Where is she?" He asked bitterly, his blue eyes burning with anger.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Emily said, mentally planning her moves to get the precious phone back from the man standing in front of her.

"The girl," Ian spat. "I know you have a daughter. You took my son from me, so I'm going to take her from you,"

Emily could only feel anger, she could no longer think rationally about anything. All she thought about was the dark-haired, brown-eyed, terrified little girl upstairs all by herself. Emily lunged at Doyle, determined to take him down, just long enough for her to call for help.

She grabbed onto his jacket, trying to get her hand into his pocket, but he pushed her away with enough force to send her falling backwards to the ground.

In the midst of it all, Emily and Ian both heard the sound of a soft, fearful cry. Everything inside Emily went numb when she glanced upwards towards the staircase, and saw Gabby sitting atop the stairs, her knees pulled up to her chest.

Emily pushed herself up off the ground and past Ian before the man even had a chance to make a move towards Gabby. Before she made it up the stairs, she felt her ankle being pulled. Ian had grabbed hold of her ankle and pulled her backwards down the stairs. She crawled up the stairs, knowing she didn't have enough time to stand herself upright. She wrapped her arms around Ian's neck and pulled him down, trying to get him as far away from her daughter as she possibly could.

Though both Ian and Emily were ten years older now, neither of them seemed to have lost their strength, making it an almost equal fight. Ian flung Emily off of him, sending her falling down the stairs for a second time.

The next thing Emily knew, she was hit in the head with something. She didn't see what, all she knew was it hurt, the force of the hit had sent her face planting onto the ground. Everything was beginning to get blurry. She slowly brought her hand to her head, she felt blood. She tried with every bit of strength she had left to pull herself up, she still had to get to Gabby. But she couldn't, she simply couldn't get up. She heard Gabby calling for her, she heard her crying.

"Gabby..." Emily called softly, unable to project her voice. Her eyes were fluttering, threatening to close, but she fought it. She made out the outline of Ian, Gabby in his hands. She could hear Gabby continuing to scream and cry for her, but she simply couldn't do anything.

"No, no!" Emily said weakly, trying to push herself up with her hands, but failing. "No!" she said again, before her eyes simply couldn't stay open any longer, and she fell victim to the darkness.

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Gabby was terrified. The man who had tried to take her at the Aquarium, had her now. He'd hurt her mom, and she had no idea where she was going. Gabby had tried to run and hide, but the man found her. She hid under her bed, and tried to be as quiet as she could, but he still found her. He picked her up and took her out to his car. She had tried calling for her mom, growing even more terrified when she saw her mom was hurt, too hurt to get up and stop the man from taking her.

When she'd been sat in the back of the car, he told her to keep quiet. Gabby closed her eyes, and started making a list of everything she loved. It was something Emily had taught Gabby to do at a young age when she would get upset, and since Emily couldn't be there now, Gabby tried to do it herself, instead of verbally expressing them to Emily, she kept the list in her head.

The whole time they were in the car, the man never spoke. He just drove, and kept looking in his rear view mirror, like he was waiting for something, or making sure nobody was following him. It made Gabby even more nervous than she already was. She just wanted to go home, back to her parents, back to Jack.

She wanted to know where they were going, they'd been driving for a pretty long time it felt like. She wondered if her mom was okay, she wondered if her dad was back home yet. She wondered if they were looking for her.

Suddenly, she felt the car come to a stop. She glanced up to see the man turned around looking right at her. She sank back as far as she could into the seat just to put a little more distance between them.

"We're going on a trip," the man said. "You're going to act like you're my daughter. If you start screaming and crying like you did back at the house, you'll be very, very sorry. Do I make myself clear?" he asked quietly, in a tone that made Gabby's heart pound faster than it already was. She was too scared to say anything, so she quickly nodded her head. He opened his car door, and opened Gabby's for her, motioning for her to come out. She hesitantly climbed out of the car, waiting as the man closed both car doors. She flinched, only slightly but enough to earn a stern glare from the man, when he reached down to grab her hand.

She looked around, realizing they were in an airport. The only time Gabby had been on a plane was when she was coming from France to America. So, she reasoned, if the man was taking her on a plane, they must be going somewhere far away. Gabby wanted to cry, and she felt like she might throw up.

Ian led her through the airport, and before long they found themselves seated on a plane. He still hadn't mentioned where they were going. Gabby sat next to the window, leaning as far back into the seat as she could, kicking her legs back and forth out of nervousness. She glanced to her right, and took in a breath.

She built up the courage to ask, ever so quietly, "Where are we going?"

"I'll show you when we get there," he said.

Gabby had about a thousand more questions, but she didn't want to ask anymore, so instead she turned her attention elsewhere, looking out the window. The last time she had flown in an airplane, it had only been Gabby, her mom, and Anthony. This time, the plane was pull of other passengers. Gabby didn't like it, and really wished her mom was with her now, instead of Ian. Before long, the plane took off and they were in the air. Gabby tried sleeping like she had last time, but she couldn't bring herself to relax enough for that.

What felt like ten years and sixteen different planes later, Ian finally told her they had arrived. He took Gabby by the hand again, leading her off the plane and getting into a black car that seemed to be waiting for them. Ian and the man driving the car began speaking in another language. It wasn't French, so Gabby couldn't understand what they were saying.

Though Gabby was so tired she could hardly keep her eyes open, she rested her head against the window of the car, looking out at all the buildings and scenery before her. Wherever they were, it was busy. There was a lot of people, too. Slowly, the masses of people and buildings seemed to get fewer and farther in between. Gabby's eyes widened when she saw the car was pulling into the driveway of a house- possibly the biggest house she had ever seen. It was white, and the roof was brown. It looked like it had at least three floors. The windows were huge. There was a big tree that shaded the back end of the house. Though magnificently large, Gabby had to admit the outside of the house wasn't very pretty at all. It looked old- like maybe no one had lived there in a long time. The grass was too tall. There was what looked like a garden towards the side of the house, but everything was overgrown, brown, and wilted.

The car had stopped in the driveway, and Ian opened the back door for Gabby, motioning for her to get out of the car. With shaky hands, Gabby unbuckled her seat belt and got out of the car, trailing a few feet behind Ian. He unlocked the door to the house, and once they were both inside, he locked it back. He lead Gabby up the stairs, into a bedroom. The walls were painted white, just like Gabby's walls at home. She felt her throat clench when she thought about how Hotch had told her she could paint them this weekend. The bed was huge- much bigger than any bed Gabby had seen before besides the one in what was now her parent's bedroom. The bedspread was a light yellow.

There was a dresser at the opposite end of the room, with a large, round mirror in the middle. Attached to the room was a bathroom, with its own shower and everything. Gabby took in the room's appearance before skeptically glancing upward in Ian's direction.

"This is where you'll stay," he said. He wasn't mean about it, but Gabby knew he wasn't happy either. "I've got somebody bringing the both of us clothes and things," he added.

He went on to explain that she could go anywhere in the house she wanted- except for Ian's Study. She was never allowed to go in there for any reason whatsoever. She also wasn't allowed to go outside. It reminded Gabby a little bit of the movie _Beauty and the Beast. _Only, she was pretty sure Ian wasn't a real beast, and that there was no enchanted spell on his house that could easily pass for a castle.

Once Ian made sure Gabby understood the rules, he turned and left her alone, closing the bedroom door behind her. Gabby climbed up on the bed, and got under the covers, wrapping them all the way around her so nothing was showing except her face. She was tired, hungry, and just wanted to go home. She hoped she wouldn't be at this place long, and she really hoped Emily was okay and that they were looking for her.

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Ian closed the door to Gabby's new bedroom, stunned that he had actually managed to pull it off. Of course he'd had every intention of being successful when he figured out how to tap into Jack's school's telephone lines, making a call and posing as someone from there. With Hotch and Jack both out of the house, Ian knew it increased his chances of getting Gabby from Emily. He knew Emily would put up a fight, she always did. However, he called it luck when she'd fallen down the stairs a second time. He took her brief moment down as an opportunity to grab a picture frame off the wall. He hit her in the head with it, and it gave him the perfect opportunity to take Gabby and run. Then, they got on the plane, and they headed for his old villa in Italy, a place he hadn't been in nearly twenty years.

The villa needed some serious clean-up and renovation. But luckily, over the years Ian had maintained a few very close, very reliable sources. By the end of the week, the villa would look completely different from the outside. He had someone bringing necessary items for Gabby and himself, as well as things to restock the bare refrigerator. He had someone coming to clean up the landscape, making the outside look as radiant as it once had before.

He knew they couldn't stay here forever. Ian knew Emily was smart and strong-willed. He knew that eventually, she would piece everything together, she would find out where Ian had taken Gabby. He also knew she would take it upon herself to come to him, she always did. And he would be good and ready for her when she came, too.


	14. Chapter 14

**Sorry for any emotional trauma I gave anyone with that last chapter! This ones a little shorter than most, and I apologize, but the next few should be longer. As always, thank you so much for your kind words, story alerts, and favorites! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

"I'm _fine,_" Emily said stubbornly for what had to be the hundredth time. "Can we go now?"

"No, Em, we can't leave," Hotch reminded her. "They're keeping you til tomorrow,"

Emily huffed. "I want to go home. I want our child back! I want to talk to the police and give them as much information as I can so they can find her!" Emily said, sitting up quickly from the bed, instantly regretting the decision as a sharp pain shot through her head.

Hotch noticed her slight wincing, and guided her back down on the hospital bed. "I know you don't want to stay here, but they need to make sure you're clear to leave. Judging by the amount of pain you're still in, you're not ready to leave now anyway. I told the locals all I know. You've only been awake an hour, they want to make sure you're lucid enough to question. You know that," Hotch reminded her gently.

"How are you so... so calm?"

"I'm not," Hotch admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I'm worried sick. I'm pissed off. For God's sake, Em, when I finally got home from Jack's school after arguing for almost half an hour, and I saw you- I- I can't even tell you what I felt. Then Gabby was gone... just simply not there. I knew then somehow this was all Doyle's doing. They'll get him. They have to. If they don't, I will," He said, feeling the rage increase. He wanted to lash out, start yelling, maybe even throw something against a wall, but he felt like he needed to be strong for Emily, so he kept it all inside.

Hotch could only think of one other time he had been as terrified as he had been when he got home earlier the previous day. He had argued with Jack's school, even showed them the number from his phone. Jack rarely got into trouble or had to leave school early, so Hotch was not well acquainted with the administrators at the school. He knew Jack's teachers, but he never had any reason for meeting the principal. Hotch knew it was a man named Richard Johnson, which was who had claimed to have been on the phone at the time.

Realizing he was getting nowhere fast, he figured there was just some sort of mix-up, so he left the school building and left Jack there as there was no real reason to being him home. He had tried calling Emily on the way home, but she didn't answer. He thought that was weird, but just assumed she was tied up with something. He never expected to walk into the scene he saw before him when he arrived home.

The door had been broken down, which instantly made Hotch terrified. He park his car and threw the door open, not even bothering to shut it closed behind him. He ran inside, and the first thing he saw was Emily. She was just lying there, and Hotch noticed her head was bleeding. It wasn't very much blood, but it had apparently been a hard enough hit to knock Emily out. He made sure she was still breathing, wiping away at tears he didn't even realize he had been shedding. He brushed Emily's hair back behind her ears and kissed her forehead lightly as he reached into his pocket for his cell phone. He called 911, and as he explained he needed a paramedic for Emily- though he had to give them her name as Marie Blanchard for now, he searched for Gabby, even though he already knew she was gone. A paramedic was sent for Emily, but Hotch wasn't able to ride along with her. The police made him stay and answer questions quickly so they could begin working on finding Gabby.

Hotch had already figured out that somehow Doyle had tapped into the phones and made it look like Jack's school had called. So luckily, his questioning was a short one and he was able to go be with Emily right after that. On the way to the hospital, he called Jack's school and told them the situation. Jack was signed out and drove to meet Hotch at the hospital, where the two sat in the waiting room silently and impatiently awaiting details on Emily.

When Hotch was told Emily would eventually be okay. She had to have stitches and had a concussion and she would be in a great amount of pain in the days following, so they were going to keep her until they were certain she wouldn't lose consciousness again, as she was still sleeping. They weren't sure if she would be able to handle sitting up, let alone standing and walking around, for a couple of days. Hotch knew that would kill her. He and Jack immediately went into Emily's room to wait for her to wake up.

As they waited, Hotch recounted his story to the local police department. He told them about Gabby's drawing from the Aquarium incident, and had them go get it from their house. The police were going to use it and footage from the Aquarium to try to piece together clues. He knew they needed Emily's story to really get the investigation going, but that was just going to have to wait it seemed. Hotch had asked if there was anyway he and Emily could assist the case once she was awake and ready, but he hadn't been given a straight answer. He knew there would be all kinds of issues that would need to be worked through, but he was willing to do whatever it took. No one was going to take his child and get away with it.

Since she'd finally woken up an hour ago, she had done nothing but ask to talk to the police. Hotch knew she was in no state to be questioned, even though she was mostly coherent, he could still tell the medicine was making her say things she would never have said before. He was pretty sure when she was ranting to the nurse about how she was fine, she had ended up telling the woman that she had just ran six laps around the hospital and finished by flying out the window. So, he knew that it was in everyone's best interests to wait until she was actually ready.

"Aaron," Emily whined. "Please make them get the police in here," she said, contorting her face into a pout.

"Em, you're not ready. I promise you, you'll be ready soon enough. Okay? The second you are I'll get them in here," he said, taking her hands in his.

She huffed, but agreed. He stepped to the side as the nurse came in a few moments later to continue checking up on Emily, but he didn't stray far. Before she left, Hotch asked her how long it would be until she thought Emily could accurately describe what had gone on several hours earlier.

"Tomorrow sometime would be for the best, just for us to ensure she really is okay. That hit to the head was a good one," The nurse informed him.

"Okay, thank you," Hotch said as she walked away. It was already nearing the middle of the night, and Hotch had sent Jack to Jessica's hours ago before Emily woke up. He hoped that once Emily woke up in the morning, she would be better able to recount her story. Since she was there to witness everything, her story was crucial in figuring out, possibly, where Gabby was taken.

He took his seat next to Emily's bed, watching her eyelids flutter open and closed as she tried to ward off sleep.

"Go to sleep, Em," he whispered softly, stroking her hair with the back of his hand. "I'll be right here, and when you wake up, maybe you can tell the police what you witnessed, okay?"

"I'm not tired," Emily mumbled, her eyes already closed. Hotch rolled his eyes, smiling to himself. She was just so damn _stubborn._

"Okay," he said. "That's why your eyes are closed and you're mumbling,"

Getting no response, he realized she was already asleep. He leaned back into his chair more, preparing for a night of very little sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about Gabby and how scared she must be. He couldn't stop thinking about Doyle, and how ruthless he had been in the past. All he wanted was find him, get rid of him for good, and get his daughter back.

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Gabby woke with a start, quickly looking around the room as she wrapped her blankets tighter around her. She didn't remember where she was. She knew she wasn't home. Then, she remembered. She had been taken by the man who wanted to hurt her mother, the man who had tried to take her at the Aquarium but she had managed to escape.

She also remembered the state her mother was in when Ian had taken her from the house. She remembered her father wasn't home at the time. Gabby felt tears burning her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. Her mom never cried when she was scared, so Gabby wouldn't either. Both her parents, she knew, had been in the FBI. Emily was going to be fine, and they were going to come find her. At least, that's what Gabby told herself.

Gabby continued looking around the room, noting that some clothes had been set on the dresser across the room. She wondered who had put them there. Slowly, she crawled out of bed and crept to the door. She heard someone talking downstairs, but she couldn't place the voice. It was a woman, though. Gabby tip-toed down the hall and down the stairs, following the sound of the mysterious voice into the kitchen.

The little girl stationed herself behind a counter, gripping the top of it with both her hands to pull herself up so she could look over it. There was a woman who looked much older than her mom. Her hair was short, curly, and gray; like a grandma's hair, she decided. She was wearing a floral patterned dress, predominately made of blues. Unlike most grandmas Gabby knew, this one didn't seem to wear glasses. The woman was cooking something, whatever it was it smelled incredible, as she sang a song Gabby wasn't familiar with to herself.

Once the woman turned around, Gabby quickly ducked her head to avoid being caught, but she wasn't fast enough. She heard the woman's footsteps getting closer to her, and she wished she could run away, but she stayed there.

"Hi there," the woman said, crouching down to meet Gabby's eye. She had an accent much like Ian's own accent. Gabby already didn't trust her solely for that.

"Hi," Gabby said quietly.

"Ian said you'd be up soon. Did you see the clothes I set up there for you? There are more in the drawers and the closet if you don't like the ones I set out," the woman said, smiling sweetly.

"I saw them," Gabby whispered. "Thanks," she added, remembering her manners.

"You're welcome," the woman said. "My name is Sarah,"

"I'm Gabby," Gabby said shyly, still unsure if she should trust this woman. She seemed nice enough, but Gabby was skeptical.

"Well, Gabby," Sarah said. "Would you like breakfast? I made pancakes,"

Gabby realized she was actually kind of hungry, despite the fact more than anything she just wanted to go home. But on the other hand, pancakes sounded pretty good to her. Hesitantly, Gabby nodded her head and stood from her position on the floor. Sarah motioned for Gabby to sit at the table, and once she was seated, the gray-haired woman sat a plate of pancakes in front of Gabby. The young girl was afraid to eat them at first, still distrusting of Sarah.

When Sarah started eating them too, Gabby took that as a sign they were okay, and she began eating the pancakes. They were nothing like her mom's, but she had to admit they weren't bad at all. They ate in silence, mostly because Gabby wasn't up to talking. Once she was finished, Gabby sat back in the chair and looked around. She wondered where Ian was, but she didn't want to ask. She didn't like him, anyway.

"You all done?" Sarah asked, to which Gabby nodded.

"Alright," Sarah replied, taking the nearly empty plate up and heading over to the sink. "Why don't you on on back up to your room and get dressed?"

Gabby simply nodded, and hopped down off the chair she was sitting in. She made her way back up the stairs, stopping once she walked past the door to Ian's Study. The door was closed, and slowly and carefully Gabby pressed her ear to it. She heard Ian's voice, low and muffled. Gabby remembered being told she was supposed to stay out of that room, and quickly she backed away from the door and went into her room, shutting the door behind her.

As Gabby got dressed, she decided she would figure out what was in that room. She figured since she wasn't allowed in there, that there would be some sort of clue to getting back to her mom, back to her dad, back to her family. By the way Ian talked to her, he obviously though Gabby wasn't as smart as she was. The girl nearly rolled her eyes at the thought. People always thought she was much younger than she actually was, simply because she was small for her age. Naturally, they underestimated her intelligence right along with it. Well, she thought. She'd sure show him.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Ian had been on the phone what felt like hours. He had been trying to get in touch with Paul. He was still extremely pissed Paul had let Gabby get away the first time, but he had to warn Paul to get out of DC, out of the country at best. If they found Paul, they would eventually find Ian. Ian didn't trust him to keep his mouth shut, so he was going to tell him to get out before anyone found him out.

"What do you mean you're not leaving?" Ian asked, exasperated, desperately trying to keep his voice quiet and calm.

"I mean," Paul said. "I'm staying here. You and I aren't working together anymore,"

"Damn right we're not," Ian spat. "If they find you, they find me. They can't find me, Paul. I have wanted this revenge for _years _now. I'm not going to let you ruin it for me just because you're being an ass,"

"Look, man, when I agreed to help you, I never agreed to kidnapping and traumatizing a little girl. That's messed up. There's gotta be another way, and this isn't it," Paul said.

"I'm not traumatizing her," Ian said. "I've got no intentions of hurting her. I've hired someone to look after her, feed her, buy her clothes, all that. I just don't want her mother to have her. I thought we went over this!"

"It _is _traumatizing her. You took her away from her parents,"

"She only cried at first. She's fine. Now get the _hell _out of DC, or I will get you the hell out myself," Ian said, his voice just below a growl. "Do I make myself clear?"

"Whatever," Ian heard before he heard the line click. Ian leaned back in the seat, his hand on his forehead as if to ward off the headache he could feel coming on. He wasn't about to let this plan be ruined, not for anything.


	15. Chapter 15

**As always, thank you guys so much for your reviews, alerts, favorites, etc. It's such great motivation! And JJ- your review made me smile because it's like you're in my head or something ;) keep reading- I think you will be happy with events to follow in future chapters! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

The next morning, after what Emily called persuasion but Hotch insisted was more like verbal abuse, she was cleared to talk to the police. She told them everything she remembered about the events that took place. She spoke quickly, and the longer she spoke the more strained her voice became, but she finished, she had to. The police man she had given all the details t immediately relayed the information to the others working the case.

Once he left, Emily sighed.

"I want to help," she said impatiently.

"You did help," Hotch told her.

"Not really. How is what I just told him going to make them find her? He could be anywhere by now!"

"They'll find her," he promised.

"Don't you want to do something?"

"Of course I do, that's our child missing, Em. But right now there's nothing we can do, besides, with you still in the hospital there's not much we can do anyway,"

"I thought I was leaving today," Emily whined, sounding years younger than she actually was.

"This afternoon," he reminded her.

She crossed her arms. "This is stupid. I'm fine. There's no sense in keeping me here anymore. I want to leave. I want to go back to the house and see what _I _can find,"

"We'll go home as soon as we can, okay?" Hotch said.

"Whatever," Emily replied, turning the other way.

A few hours later, Emily was told she could be discharged. Happily, she nearly jumped out of the bed and onto her feet, but not before being met with a wheelchair.

"Hospital policy," Hotch smirked.

"Are you _kidding _me? I can walk," she said. She had never been a fan of hospitals, doctor's offices, and definitely not wheelchairs.

"Just get in and let me push you out to the car,"

"Ugh," Emily groaned, sitting down in the very uncomfortable chair. "You'd think they'd at least make the damn things comfortable if they force you to ride in them unwillingly," she muttered.

Seconds after Hotch parked the car outside of his house, Emily threw the door open and moved as quickly as she could, which wasn't as fast as she would have liked due to the dull ache that coursed through her body.

Nothing had been moved since Doyle had been there. Jack had been staying with Jessica because the police needed everything the way it was. Emily stopped once she got to the door, still lying on the ground. She hesitantly stepped inside, but was met by a police officer.

"Ma'am, you can't come inside yet, the scene is still being searched," he said.

"Let me help," Emily begged. "I used to be FBI. I know my daughter better than any of those people, maybe she left a clue or something. Please," she continued.

She felt Hotch walk up and stand next to her. He wrapped am arm around her waist protectively.

"We were both FBI," Hotch said. "Let us help,"

The man at the door looked skeptical, but stepped back to allow Hotch and Emily into the house.

"Thank you," Emily said sincerely. She tensed when she saw the bloodstains on the floor by the stairs. _Her _bloodstains. Hotch held onto her tightly.

"Where did you say Gabby was while you and Doyle were going at it?"

"On the stairs. She saw everything," Emily said, feeling her body begin to shake.

"Before that she was in her room?"

Emily nodded her hear and bit back her tears. "Yeah. I told her to wait for me to come get her, but I guess she heard us fighting..."

"Let's check up there, see if there's any clues they missed. You were right, you know her better than anybody,"

Emily nodded again and took hold of Hotch's hand, as they cautiously walked up the stairs and crept into Gabby's room.

Everything was just as it had been left. A few items of clothing strewn about the room, something Emily would have ordinarily scolded her for. Emily picked up the fuzzy, green blanket Garcia had brought by on one of her visits. Gabby had loved it, and had slept with it over her every night since. She carefully ran her hands over it.

Neither Hotch nor Emily said anything for a few minutes, but before long Emily broke the silence.

"Where are those drawings she did the day after the Aquarium?" Emily asked, never looking up from the piece of fabric she still gripped in her hands.

"Let me look," Hotch said, looking around the room in various places for the pieces of paper. Emily sat on Gabby's bed.

"Here they are," Hotch said, handing them over to Emily.

"Thanks," she said, taking them and intently looking at each one. "She never said who this was," Emily noted, pointing to a second man in the picture she had drawn, but never identified.

"Do you think he was with Doyle?" Hotch asked.

"I don't know..." Emily said, her eyebrows forrowing as she became lost in thought. "He was important enough for Gabby to feel like she needed to draw, though. Let's take this downstairs. We should also call the Aquarium and ask if we can look at their footage," Emily suggested.

"Good idea," Hotch agreed, helping Emily stand from her sitting position on the bed. No matter how strong she wanted to appear on the outside, Hotch knew she was far from. He could feel her body shaking under his touch. "If we can figure out who he is, we'll be one step closer to bringing her home," Hotch added for encouragement.

o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O.o.O

Gabby had decided she actually liked Sarah. The older woman was always nice, and always made sure she had something for Gabby to do. As pretty as the villa was, it could get quite boring for a young child. So far, Sarah had let Gabby help her cook, and let Gabby help her plant flowers outside. She even went and picked up books for Gabby later in the day after the girl had mentioned her interest in reading.

Gabby was still incredibly determined to find out what Ian was hiding in his study. Every time she passed the door, he was inside with the door closed it seemed.

However, as Gabby was eating her dinner with Sarah, Ian had come down the stairs. Gabby made sure to not make any eye contact with the man, she looked everywhere except for in his direction.

"I have to leave for a few days," he stated. "Sarah, I'm trusting you to watch the girl," he said, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

Sarah nodded in return. "I'll take good care of her, sir. Might I ask where you're going?" she questioned, handing him his own plate of food.

He accepted it and sat it down in front of him, seating himself at the table with them, but he didn't make a move to eat any of it.

"Just have to go out of the country for a bit," he commented.

Without thinking, Gabby asked "Are you going to America?"

Ian just stared at her for a moment, Gabby couldn't exactly tell if he was angry with her or not, but she really didn't like the way he was looking at her.

"Yes," he answered flatly.

"Are you going to find my mom?" Gabby asked timidly.

"No," Ian said quickly. "I have other things to take care of," he told her.

"Oh," Gabby said sadly. "Why can't you take me?"

"Why would I take you? This doesn't concern you," he told her. Although technically, it had everything to do with her. He had to get Paul out of the States before he blew Ian's cover.

"Okay," Gabby said quietly, looking down at her shoes.

"I have to leave in an hour," Ian said. "I'm trusting you," he said to Sarah. "And you," he said looking right at Gabby. "Stay out of the study,"

Gabby just nodded, unable to speak up. Then, Ian was gone.

"He's got a bit of a temper, doesn't he?" Sarah said, clearing the plates away from the table. "Sorry, dear. But it looks like it's just going to be us for a few days," she said happily.

"Can I go to my room?" Gabby asked softly.

"Of course," Sarah responded.

Gabby hopped down from the chair she had been sitting in and made her way quickly up the stairs and to her room. It was much bigger than any room Gabby had ever had before, but it wasn't really hers. Not to Gabby, anyway. None of the things in it were hers. The bed was comfortable, but she still found herself unable to sleep. Gabby missed her family, she missed her real home, back with the people she loved.

That's when Gabby got an idea. If she could just find a phone, she could call Hotch's house and tell them where she was. Gabby wondered why she hadn't thought of that idea earlier.

Deciding to wait for the right time, she went ahead and got herself ready for bed. She lay there, listening to the villa to get silent. When she heard the front door open, signifying Ian had left for his trip, and the sounds of Sarah retiring to her own room, Gabby put her plan into action.

Slowly and soundlessly, Gabby threw the covers off her and got down from the bed. She crept to the door, opening it cautiously to prevent any squeaking. She tiptoed down the hall, looking in all the rooms she could for a phone.

She looked through all the upstairs, and downstairs rooms. There _had _to be a phone here somewhere, didn't there?

Then, it hit her. The phone was probably in the study. Gabby went back up the stairs, slower than ever, and stood in front of the door that lead to the study she was forbidden from entering.

She took a breath before reaching up to get the knob, finding it was locked. She sighed. Of course, that was just her luck. Her next mission was to find the key that unlocked the room- her only hope to getting back home.

She quickly turned on her heels, but before she could take another step, she gasped and froze instantly. Standing before her was a very angry looking Ian Doyle.

"I told you to stay out of there," he said lowly, probably so as to not wake Sarah.

"I didn't- I thought you had left already," Gabby whispered, shuffling her feet.

"Looks like you thought wrong," Ian said going over to her and grabbing her by the hand. He led her back to her room, not saying a word the whole time. The angered look never left his face.

"Can I trust you to listen to Sarah while I'm gone, or am I going to have to have someone else watch you? Someone not as nice as her, I assure you,"

Gabby shook her head. "I won't do it again," she told him. "I'm sorry,"

"That's what I thought," he said. "The key to that room is coming with me," he informed her. "Now don't cause anymore trouble," and then he was gone again.

Gabby ran to the bed and jumped up on it, throwing the covers over her head. Her only plan to get back home had been ruined, and now she had absolutely no idea what to do to get back.


	16. Chapter 16

**For some reason this one kept giving me trouble to write, but, here it is! **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

Four days. Emily hadn't seen Gabby in four days. It was the longest amount of time the two of them had ever spent apart, and Emily just knew Gabby had to be completely miserable. It was taking the police forever to try to find the other man in Gabby's drawing that had once been overlooked. It was driving Emily crazy.

Emily, Hotch, and Jack had all been staying with JJ. None of them really wanted to go back to their house just yet. In the few days they'd been here, Emily had not once left the guest bedroom she and Hotch were sharing. She wouldn't talk to anyone. How could she? She envied everyone's ability to fall asleep at night. She glanced at the clock on the nightstand next to her. It was nearing 2am. She heard Hotch's slow breathing beside her and knew he was asleep.

Slowly, Emily got up from the bed and sat herself down on the edge. She wrapped her arms around her middle and sat there, not knowing what to do. She didn't even realize she had started to cry until she felt two arms quickly wrap around her shoulders.

Instead of pushing him away like she had been, Emily felt herself leaning into Hotch, burying her face into his neck, letting the sobs continue to wrack her weak body. Hotch didn't shush her, he didn't tell her to calm down. He knew she needed to break down, as she'd spent much of her time trying to hold herself together. She needed this right now, and she needed him to be there for her.

"She's gone," Emily choked out. "She's gone and its all my fault,"

"No," Hotch said firmly. "This is not your fault. You did everything exactly right,"

"Then why isn't she here!" Emily said, her voice cracking.

Hotch gently pulled Emily back so they were facing eachother. He wiped away the tears that were still falling down her cheeks. "Listen to me," he said, but Emily quickly looked away. He brought a hand to her chin and gently lifted her face up to his. "Are you listening?" This time, he got a slight nod.

"You did everything you could," he said calmly.

"No I didn't! I should have never left her by herself! I should have stayed. I should have taken her out the back door and never looked back!" Emily nearly yelled, pushing Hotch's hand away and flopping back onto the bed.

Hotch laid on his side next to her, and allowed the broken woman to curl into him. He brushed her hair back as she continued to cry.

"You did exactly what I would've done had that been Jack," he told her honestly. "Your only thought was her safety, right?" Emily nodded into his chest.

"Then you did everything right," he said simply.

"Its not fair," Emily said, moving away from Hotch and sitting upright again. "Its not fair!" She repeated. "I made so sure she was safe. I promised her I wouldn't let anything happen to her!" She said loudly, too upset to care everyone else was sleeping.

"We're going to find her," he said, also sitting up. "We will. She'll be back in your arms before you know it,"

Emily sniffled a few times. "I almost lost her," she admitted in the smallest voice Hotch had ever heard her use.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"When she was born," Emily said, closing her eyes. "She was 6 weeks early," she recalled.

"Em," Hotch said when he noticed her struggling. "Its okay, she's okay. You didn't lose her,"

"She didn't cry," Emily said, balling the comforter on the bed up in her fists. "They took her from me before I even got to-got to see her. I didn't know if she was-" Emily didn't continue her story any farther, she couldn't speak anymore. She was crying too hard.

"Emily," Hotch said, instictively taking her in his arms once again. He slowly began to rock back and forth, much like he had when Jack was little and needed comfort. "She's okay," he reminded her again.

It took Emily awhile to calm herself down. But eventually, she'd stopped crying. Hotch's arms had started to go numb as he still held her in them, but he didn't care. Emily leaned up and turned her body to face him, wiping at her eyes one last time.

"I love you," she said suddenly. "Thank you," she continued, her voice barely above a whisper.

"I love you too," he replied. He hadn't expected Emily to press her lips to his, but she had. Without breaking apart, Hotch moved to lean up against the headboard of the bed with Emily straddling him. He cupped her face in his hands as she ran her fingers through his hair.

They continued for a few minutes, before Emily reached down and tugged at the end of Hotch's shirt.

"Are you sure, Em?" He asked quietly, not wanting her to regret the decision he knew she had made.

"Please," she breathed. "Should I lock the door?" She whispered, he nodded, and she removed herself from the bed and locked the door. She took her spot again, straddling Hotch's lap. He allowed her to unclothe him, and then he did the same for her.

"I love you," Emily said again, in between kisses, afraid she just couldn't say enough. He returned the phrase, brushing her hair back as they laid down together.

Emily tried to suppress her moans of delight with each roll of his hips, biting her lip the whole time.

They were both out of breath, laying in each others arms under the blankets, not bothering to get back into their clothes. Neither of them spoke, just enjoyed each other's company. Before long, Hotch noticed Emily's breathing slow. She was asleep. He knew she hadn't slept in at least four days, and even before Gabby had been taken she never slept much. He found himself slowly drifting as well, and they slept together through the rest of the night.

They woke to knocking on the door, and JJ's voice on the other side.

"Are you guys up?"

"Yeah," Hotch called back softly, not wanting to disturb Emily who was finally getting some rest.

"The police just called, they think they found Doyle's accomplice,"

"Emily," he said softly, running a hand up and down her back. "Wake up, they found him,"

Emily's eyes fluttered open. "They did?" she said, quickly sitting up, the blankets still over her body.

"They think so," he said. "Come on, let's get dressed and go out there with JJ so we can figure out what's going on,"

"Okay," she agreed, hurriedly getting out of bed and tossing on whatever clothing was closest, not caring what it was, Hotch did the same and they then opened the door, where JJ awaited them.

"They got him?" Emily asked hopefully.

"They think, but... but they can't find him,"

"What do you mean?"

"His last known residence in the area is just a few miles from here, but he wasn't there. It appeared he had been recently, his things are there. They're staking it out in hopes he'll come back," JJ informed her friends, wishing she had something more to share.

"Oh," Emily said, feeling herself lean backwards into Hotch's chest for support. Her whole body began to shake. "I'm so sick of this," she moaned. "I'll find her myself!" she said, using what strength she could muster to run back into the bedroom, closing and locking the door behind her.

She refused anyone's requests to enter the room. She needed to think. She knew Doyle better than anyone, at least she had in the past. She knew how his mind worked. She could figure it out of she really thought about it. She searched for something to write on, not caring she was completely tearing up the room in the process. When she'd found some scrap paper and a pen, she quickly began scribbling down thoughts. Where would he take her? She would figure it out, and she would make it her mission to get Gabby back herself.

Gabby liked not having Doyle around the villa. Sarah was a lot nicer than he was. Gabby still hadn't been able to figure out a way to get into the study, where she was sure there would be some sort of way to contact her parents.

Earlier in the day, Sarah had mentioned that the two of them needed to go get groceries. Gabby knew she'd never be able to convince Sarah to let her stay at the villa all by herself, but maybe if she could separate herself from Sarah long enough to find someone to help her...

Gabby was devising ways to escape when Sarah knocked on Gabby's bedroom door, causing her to jump a bit.

"Are you ready, dear?" Sarah asked.

"Yes," Gabby answered, turning the knob and walking out of the room, following Sarah down the stairs, outside, and into the car.

The ride to the store was a quiet one, and it felt like it took forever for them to get into town. Once they arrived at the store, Sarah grabbed tightly onto Gabby's hand. Gabby fervently protested being sat in the shopping cart when Sarah had tried to get her to do so.

"I'm _nine,_" she huffed. "I haven't ridden in the shopping cart since first grade. I can walk,"

"Fine, but stay close," Sarah warned, to which Gabby agreed.

Gabby waited for just the right moment, and finally the moment came when she heard Sarah say she had forgotten to pick something up a few aisles back.

"I'll go get it," Gabby volunteered.

"No, no. I can't have you running off by yourself,"

"I'll be _fine_," Gabby protested.

Sarah took a moment before agreeing to let Gabby pick up the forgotten item.

Gabby walked slowly to the desired aisle, making sure Sarah wasn't watching her. When she was sure she wasn't being watched, she cut across the store as far away from Sarah as she could get. She glanced around at all the people, looking for someone who had a phone out. Her eyes fell on a man standing next to the fruit, his phone in his hand. Gabby ran up to him and waited to be acknowledged.

"Hi," the man said. "Are you lost?"

Gabby wasn't sure what to say, so she just ignored the question. "Can I borrow your phone?" she asked. "To call my mom?"

"Are you here alone?"

"No," Gabby responded, growing anxious. Sarah would be looking for her soon. "I'm with my grandmother. She doesn't have a phone,"

"Okay," the man finally agreed, handing Gabby his phone. She ran off quickly and into the bathrooms so no one would hear what she had to say, she was thankful she was the only one there. She hurriedly dialed Hotch's cell phone number, grateful Emily had made her memorize it.

It rang a few times, and Gabby was scared no one was going to answer, but then she heard the unmistakable voice of her father on the other end of the line.

"Hello?" he said, sounding a bit confused.

"Daddy?" Gabby asked, trying to remain calm.

"Gabby?" he asked in disbelief. "Oh honey. Em! It's Gabby!" She heard him call.

"You're on speaker, sweetie," she heard Hotch continue. "Your mom's here too,"

"Mama? You're okay?" Gabby asked, as the last time she had seen Emily she hadn't been in a great state.

"Yes, ma chere, I'm right here," Emily replied. "I'm fine," she said. Gabby could tell she was crying, something Gabby was trying very hard not to do.

"Where are you?" Emily finally asked.

"I don't know," Gabby admitted. "There's a huge house, and Ian isn't here he's in America and we took a plane to get here and a lady named Sarah is watching me but we're in a store and I ran away and found a phone,"

"A big house?" Emily asked. "Oh my God, I know where she is!" She heard Emily exclaim. "Sweetheart, I know where you are, okay? I'm coming,"

"You promise?" Gabby asked quietly.

"I promise," Emily said.

"Okay," Gabby said. "I love you. And Daddy," she added, knowing they needed to end their phone call.

"We love you too," Emily said.

"So much, we'll see you soon, okay? Just hang in there," she heard Hotch say.

Reluctantly, they said their goodbyes and hung up the phone. Gabby opened the door to the bathroom, the man who's phone she had borrowed standing outside the door, shooting her a glare.

"Um..." Gabby said, handing him back his phone. "Thanks!" she said quickly, running off to find Sarah who was surely looking for her by now. She found the older woman just a few feet away, frantically searching for Gabby and calling her name.

"I'm right here!" Gabby said, making her way over to the woman.

"Oh, Gabby," Sarah said. "Where on earth did you go? I sent you three aisles down!"

"Uh," Gabby said, buying time for yet another lie. "Bathroom," she decided on saying. That wasn't a _complete _lie.

"Next time, tell me. Honestly. I was worried sick!" Sarah said. "I ought to make you sit in the cart, but now there's no room,"

"You worry too much," Gabby said, skipping ahead of Sarah, who quickly caught up to her. "Can we go now?" Gabby asked.

"Yes, we're done here," Sarah said, directing them towards the check out lines.

As they paid for the groceries, put them in the car, and made their way back to the villa, Gabby found herself feeling happy for the first time since she'd been here. Her parents knew where she was, and she was well on her way to going home.


	17. Chapter 17

**Hopefully you guys like this chapter : ) **

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

Emily spent the rest of the day locked in the guest bedroom, unwilling to let anyone inside. After their conversation with Gabby, Hotch had immediately informed the police. Emily grew frustrated when they were told that since she was out of the country, they would need to wait to hear back from officials in Italy.

This pissed Emily off. She was tired of waiting. She was tired of being told to let the professionals handle it. She was tired of being told to calm down. She knew where Gabby was, and she knew she wouldn't get her back any time soon if she continued waiting.

So, she spent the day locked away in the guest bedroom. She wouldn't even let Hotch in, because even he was agreeing to wait. She was angry with him, even though she knew deep down he was being rational. She just couldn't understand how he could keep such a level head. She was confused and upset, and all she wanted to do was go get her daughter back.

While she was alone, she took it upon herself to book a flight to Italy. She was going to leave in the middle of the night, to avoid any protests Hotch and JJ would give her. She knew they'd never agree to letting her go alone, and she doubted they would willingly come with her. Not when the professionals were taking over. Emily rolled her eyes at the thought. They used to _be _the professionals, didn't they? Why were they so hell-bent on sitting back and letting someone else handle it?

She shook her head, quietly packing the smallest bag she could find, shoving it under the bed. She would leave as soon as she was sure the household was asleep. Maybe she wasn't thinking clearly, maybe this wasn't the best idea Emily had ever had, but she didn't care. She was going to get Gabby back on her own terms, no matter what she had to do.

Emily groaned slightly when she heard a light knock on the door.

"Em?" she heard JJ's familiar voice ask.

"Yeah?" Emily acknowledged.

"Can you come out now? You've been in here all afternoon. I made dinner," she tried coaxing.

"I'm not hungry," Emily said coldly.

"No one is, Emily. But you need to take care of yourself," JJ said softly.

"I'm fine in here, thanks anyway," Emily said, hoping that would make JJ go away. She knew JJ was just trying to help, but she didn't want help.

"Will you let me in anyway?" JJ asked quietly. Emily couldn't ignore the request, even though she really wanted to. She twisted the doorknob, allowing the blonde inside, quickly locking the door behind her so no one else would come in.

Emily sat on the bed, not sure what to do or say. She brought a fingernail to her mouth and started biting, though there were no nails left to bite.

"Hey," JJ said softly, sitting down next to Emily. "It's gonna be okay. You figured out where she is when she called, she'll be back here before you know it," she said, putting an arm around her clearly broken friend.

"I'll be better when she's here," Emily said simply, not giving away any hint of what she was planning to do that night. She was going to get Gabby back, regardless of what anyone told her, and she didn't want to hear their protests and reasons why she shouldn't.

"I know," JJ half-smiled. "But come on, come downstairs with everyone," she tried again, but Emily shook her head.

"I'm sorry," she told the blonde quietly. "I just shouldn't be around people right now,"

"Okay, if you're sure. If you decide you want to come down you're more than welcome," JJ replied, lightly patting Emily's knee before standing up and heading over to the door.

"Thanks," Emily said, her voice barely above a whisper, and then JJ was gone. Emily was alone again, thankfully. She loved everyone that would be gathering downstairs momentarily, but she just wanted to be by herself, think of her plans, get into Doyle's head as best she could before she got to Italy. She wouldn't let Doyle get away with his plans this time.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Emily waited until she was sure Hotch was sound asleep. When he started to snore lightly, she knew her getting out of bed wouldn't disturb him. She moved slowly, getting out of bed and reaching down to pick up the small bag she packed. She tip-toed down the stairs, remembering to turn off the alarm system and resetting it as she made her way out the front door. She had the keys to Hotch's car, and she hurriedly got in and started the vehicle, taking her desired path to the airport. She knew once Hotch and JJ figured out she was missing, along with his car, it would only be a matter of time before they figured out just where she had gone to. But by then, Emily assumed she would have Gabby with her and would already be making her way back home.

Bringing the car to a stop in the airport parking lot, she got her bag out of the car and proceeded to go inside, annoyed that despite the late hour, everything seemed to be taking twice as long as it should have taken. Finally, she had boarded her plane and was impatiently waiting for it to take off.

It felt like it took years, but finally Emily's last plane had landed at the desired location. She practically flew out of her seat, down the aisle, and off the plane. It was nearing mid-day in Italy by the time she had arrived. As she made her way through town in a rental car, she found herself feeling extra paranoid, scanning everyone she passed, making sure none of them were Ian or Gabby.

It had been eighteen years since Emily had been to the villa, so it took her much longer than she had anticipated to finally locate it. The magnificent house was much more secluded than she remembered it being. Along the way, Emily had picked up some cleaning supplies, prepared to disguise herself as a housekeeper. She wasn't exactly sure how the plan would play out, as she wasn't sure if Doyle was back yet, but she needed some way in. She recalled years ago the many different housekeepers that had often stopped by to help Louise with Declan. She just hoped her plan worked long enough to get her inside so she could find Gabby.

She pulled into the drive, thankful that the gates were open. She parked the car, and looked at herself in the mirror. She pulled her hair back with a hair tie, and put on some sunglasses. It wasn't a fool-proof disguise, she knew that. However, she had her heart set on Doyle still being gone and only having to face the woman Gabby had mentioned during her phone call. Emily grabbed the supplies she had picked up and walked up to the door. Taking a breath, she rang the doorbell, hearing the familiar sound from the other side of the door.

A woman appeared on the other side, staring at Emily intently. It had to be the woman that Gabby had talked about. It took every ounce of Emily's willpower to not bolt past the woman and run inside in search of her daughter. Instead, she kept her composure, acting as normal as possible.

"Who are you?" the woman asked, crossing her arms.

"My name is Bianca," Emily lied smoothly. "I'm supposed to help clean the house," she said in her best Italian accent, thankful more than ever for her extensive knowledge of languages and accents.

"No one told me you were to come," the woman told her.

"Ian Doyle asked me to come specifically," Emily lied again. It seemed to work, because the woman's expression seemed to soften, and she stepped back away from the doorframe.

"At this hour?" the woman asked skeptically; it was nearing sunset.

Emily thought for a second. "I'm a bit late, I apologize. I supposed I could return tomorrow," she said, preparing to turn around and go back to the car. She nearly sighed in relief when the woman said:

"No, no, you've already come all this way. If Ian specifically asked for you, then by all means do come inside. I'm Sarah by the way,"

Emily smiled, this time she wasn't acting for a part, she was so happy her plan was working. She followed Sarah inside, anxious to look around for Gabby. Sarah led Emily up the stairs into a seemingly unoccupied bedroom. One Emily was all too familiar with. This room had at one point belonged to Declan. It had since been redecorated, but Emily would always remember his room being the third door on the left.

"You can stay here, if you wish," Sarah told her. Emily nodded in response.

"Thank you," she said.

"You can start tomorrow," Sarah told her. "For now, I'm going to finish making dinner,"

"Would you like any help?" Emily asked, crossing her fingers mentally that Sarah would say no, and she did. Emily tried not to look too happy about it.

Sarah turned and walked out of the room, leaving Emily alone in the bedroom. She hadn't looked around too much on her way in, but to her it seemed the basic layout of the villa was the same. There had always been an inordinate amount of bedrooms, they were never all occupied at once. Emily sat her belongings at the foot of the bed, listening intently for the sounds of Sarah continuing her cooking in the kitchen as she took her sunglasses off and let her hair down. When she heard a few pans clatter together, she took that as her opportunity to start looking for Gabby.

She assumed Gabby had her own room. If Sarah had let Gabby accompany her to the grocery store, it didn't seem likely she was locked away somewhere; like Emily had been in the warehouse all those years ago. Emily began searching the rooms upstairs, easily remembering what each room had been in the past.

When she came to a door that was slightly ajar, something told her this had to be the room. She slowly pushed the door open the rest of the way, revealing a bedroom. In the middle of the room there was a bed, with a perfect Gabby-sized lump in the middle. Emily didn't want to startle her, in case she was asleep, but as the door creaked when Emily closed the door behind her, Gabby's head popped out of the blankets, and when she saw Emily her eyes widened.

"Mama!" Gabby said excitedly, but not loudly enough for Sarah to have heard.

The girl practically rolled out of the bed, tripping a little as she ran into Emily's awaiting arms, nearly knocking both of them down in the process.

"You came!" Gabby said happily. "You found me!"

"Of course I did, _ma chere_. I told you I would," Emily said, her voice cracking as she tightened her grip on Gabby, afraid if she let go she'd lose her again. Emily swiftly picked Gabby up, and sat on the bed with her in her lap, hugging Gabby close to her.

"Are you okay?" Emily asked softly. "Nobody hurt you did they?"

"No," Gabby told her. "Sarah's nice. She always makes me food and she lets me help her in the garden sometimes. And she brought me books. Ian is scary. He's still gone, though. I just missed you,"

"I missed you too," Emily said.

"Can we go home now?" Gabby asked quietly.

"Tonight," Emily replied. "We'll leave tonight when Sarah's asleep. By tomorrow, we'll be back where we belong, okay?"

"Okay," Gabby said. Though it was nearing nighttime already, they both felt as if the rest of the day would drag on forever.


	18. Chapter 18

**I decided to post this a little earlier in the week than I normally do, since I'll be out of town all weekend this weekend. I really can't thank each of you enough for not only reading, but taking tome to review, some of you, every single chapter. It's a really great motivator and makes me want to continue the story, so thank you! : )**

**Disclaimer: I do not own CM**

**-kbrewster.**

Later in the evening, Sarah had finished making dinner and had called Emily and Gabby down from upstairs. Emily had told Gabby that while they were around Sarah, they had to act like that didn't know each other so Sarah wouldn't figure out their plan. Reluctantly, Gabby agreed.

They went downstairs, sitting diagonally across from each other at the table in the kitchen. No one spoke for a few minutes, the silence made Emily feel awkward. She pushed her food around on her plate, not wanting to do anything but take Gabby home already. She noticed Gabby doing the same thing.

"So, I can't help but notice the similarities between you two," Sarah commented. Emily froze and locked eyes with Gabby from across the table, who looked terrified.

"I don't see it," Emily tried to play it off. "She's much prettier than I am," she added.

"Are you kidding?" Sarah asked. "She looks just like you,"

Emily bit her bottom lip, trying not to crack under the pressure. "Funny how that happens, I guess," she tried again.

"You're her mother," Sarah said simply. "I guessed when you came to the door, but now that I've got a good look at the both of you, there's no denying it," Emily was caught, and she knew it. Before she could respond, she felt Gabby fling herself into her lap, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother's neck. Emily held onto the little girl, willing to do whatever it took to keep her with her.

"It's okay," she whispered softly, before turning her attention to Sarah. "Okay, yeah. I'm her mother. And despite whatever Ian's told you, she belongs with me. Not here," Emily told Sarah sternly.

"I agree with you," Sarah said, surprising Emily so much that the brunette wasn't sure what to say.

"You- what?" Emily managed.

"It's not right- taking her from you. I never agreed with it. But I took care of her for you," Sarah said, giving Emily a tight smile.

"Thank you," Emily said sincerely.

"Ian is due back in an hour," Sarah said lowly. "You won't have much of a head start if you leave now," she informed them. Emily frowned slightly.

"It's better than nothing," Emily decided.

"I'll hold him off as long as I can, but the two of you have got to go right now!" Sarah said quickly.

Emily stood, picking Gabby up with her as she did so, since the girl was still clinging to Emily as if her life depended on it. "Thank you," she said sincerely, biting back tears.

"Think nothing of it, now go!" she ushered them out the door, closing it abruptly behind her.

Emily walked as quickly as she could out to her car, sitting Gabby in the front seat next to her- a very rare occasion, but she didn't want Gabby any farther away from her than that, and she knew the girl would agree.

They drove in silence back to the airport. Emily hoped they wouldn't be held up for too long, she knew it was the first place Ian would come look for them once he realized they were gone.

"What if he comes back for us?" Gabby asked quietly, breaking the silence as Emily pulled into a parking space.

Emily bit her lip, she knew he would come after them. As soon as they got back to Hotch, they would all need to leave and get to safety. Emily hadn't really thought much beyond getting Gabby back with her, and she'd be lying if she said she was sure he wouldn't bother them anymore.

"Once we get to your dad and Jack, we'll get somewhere safe. Until he's caught," Emily finally replied.

"But what if he never gets caught?" Gabby asked, and Emily would have known by the tone that she was crying, even if she hadn't shifted in her seat to look at Gabby. These were exactly the types of conversations she hoped to never have with Gabby. For so long, she only focused on keeping Gabby safe. She had promised herself years ago that she would never let something like this happen, that no matter what her child would never think about things like this.

"He will," Emily told her, using her thumbs to wipe tears from Gabby's face. "We'll be okay," she said as honestly as she could. Emily then got out of the car, going around to Gabby's side and opening the door for her. She picked Gabby up again, rushing to get through the people and into the building. She had never been more thankful than she had been when she noticed it was seemingly calm, there weren't many people there. She navigated her way to where she knew she needed to go, and bought the two of them a ticket back to DC. She was glad JJ had frozen all of Emily's money in her savings account after she had faked her death, and that it was all still there in a different account that she could access.

They boarded their plane what seemed like an eternity later, and Gabby had yet to speak since their conversation in the car. Emily didn't want Gabby to be like her in that she never talked about anything. She didn't want Gabby to feel like it wasn't okay to talk about their situation. She was also worried that Gabby was mad at her, as crazy as it sounded. She'd promised she wouldn't let anything happen to her, but Ian had taken her anyway.

"Hey," Emily said softly, causing Gabby to turn and look at her. "I'm sorry," Emily said, bringing hand to Gabby's messy hair. "I know I promised you I wouldn't let anything happen to you, but it happened anyway. It's okay to be mad at me if you want to be,"

"I'm not mad at you. You tried to keep me away from him, but I didn't listen to you." Gabby told her mother seriously. "_I'm _sorry,"

"Honey," Emily said, fighting back tears once again, motioning for Gabby to sit in her lap, which the girl did almost instantly. "It's not your fault," she said softly. "Don't ever think any of this was your fault," she continued.

"I just- I want to go home and I don't want him to come back," she continued, referring to Doyle.

"I know," Emily said, turning Gabby in her lap so she was practically lying down, her legs dangling out to the side. "We'll be home soon," she promised. "You look exhausted, why don't you try to sleep for awhile?"

"Okay," Gabby agreed. "Don't leave," she added quickly.

"I'm not going anywhere," Emily smiled, as Gabby closed her eyes, falling asleep nearly instantly. She assumed the girl had gotten about as much sleep as Emily had over the last few days- which was hardly any. Emily stayed awake awhile longer, but she eventually allowed herself to fall asleep for the last half of the flight.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Emily and Gabby landed in DC hours later, after having to change planes twice. Once the two of them made it to the parking lot, just as Emily had suspected, Hotch's car wasn't there anymore. She decided to call him, to let him know he was bringing Gabby home. Of course, she'd had to ask someone for their phone since she didn't have hers. She dialed the familiar number quickly, holding her breath as she waited for him to answer.

"Hello?" she heard him say, though he sounded angry.

"Hi," Emily managed to squeak out.

"_Emily?" _he asked, partly in frustration and partly out of relief. "Where are you? What were you thinking? Do you know how worried sick you've had us?"

"I got her back, Aaron. I have Gabby right here," she informed him.

"Where are you?" he asked. She told him she was at the airport. "Wait there with Gabby, okay? JJ's going to come get you. Can I talk to Gabby?" he asked.

"Of course," Emily said, handing the phone to Gabby, who had been standing close to Emily the whole time.

"Hi," Gabby said just as Emily had just moments ago.

"Hey, sweetheart. It's so good to hear your voice," he said, much more calmly than he had to Emily.

"Me and Mama are coming home," she told him.

"I know, JJ's on her way to pick you up,"

"Are you mad?" Gabby asked. "At Mama?"

Hotch didn't say anything for a moment. He was angry she had left without telling him. He was angry she didn't ask him to come. He assumed she didn't because he had told her to wait to hear back from the Italian government, but had she asked him to go, he would have. She had no business going alone, and he knew there would have been no way to keep her there if she didn't want to be. On the other hand, she had successfully managed to get their daughter back. How could he be mad about that? He may not have known about the little girl until recently, but the whole time she was missing, all he wanted to do was get her back. He wanted to take Doyle down himself if he had to. But he tried to keep a level-head, be the voice of reason he knew Emily was lacking.

"I'm not mad at you or your Mama," he finally decided on saying.

"Promise?" Gabby asked softly.

"I promise," Hotch said seriously.

"Okay. I miss you. And Jack," Gabby said, changing the subject.

"We all miss you too, and we can't wait for you to come home!" He said with as much cheerfulness as he could muster.

"Mama says we have to leave when we get back. Just until Ian gets caught," Gabby continued.

"We'll discuss all of that later, okay? Can I talk to your Mama again?" he asked, knowing it would only be a matter of minutes before JJ arrived to get them.

"Okay, Daddy," Gabby said. "See you soon!" she told him happily.

"See you in a few minutes," he confirmed, happy he was able to say that. "Love you,"

"Love you too," she replied, handing the phone back to Emily.

"Hey," Emily said, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Hey. I'm sorry I snapped,"

"It's okay. I guess I deserved it,"

"No, you didn't," he assured her calmly. "Thank you for doing what I would have done, had I not been trying to be the rational one. Thank you for getting her back. I just wish I would have been with you so you wouldn't have been alone,"

"I'm sorry," Emily said. "I should have- I should have at least mentioned it to you before I just took off. But we got her back- again- and this time we're not letting her go. Not for anything,"

"You're damn right we won't," Hotch agreed. "I'll see you in a few minutes," he then said.

"Alright,"

"I love you, Emily,"

"And I love you," she returned the phrase, ending the call and handing the phone back to the owner with a soft smile. As if on cue, she saw JJ's car pull up to the parking lot. She led Gabby by the hand to the familiar vehicle, opting to sit in the back with Gabby rather than in the front.

"Emily Prentiss!" JJ said as soon as she'd opened the car door, helping Gabby get in. "You had me worried sick!"

"Sorry, Jayje," Emily mumbled, getting into the car herself and buckling her seat belt, making sure Gabby did the same.

"You've got some real nerve there, Prentiss,"

"Technically," Emily started. "That's not my name anymore,"

"You'll always be Emily Prentiss to me. What you just pulled? Definite Prentiss behavior," JJ continued the banter.

"Oh, just drive, blondie!" Emily laughed lightly for the first time in days.

JJ took the quickest route back to her house, where Hotch and Jack were waiting for them. The ride was mostly silent, but it wasn't awkward. They had almost arrived back at JJ's house, stopped at the last red light before arriving. JJ looked in the rearview mirror out of habit when she saw a car pull up behind them. She froze when she realized she recognized the man driving the car. Ian Doyle.

"What is it, Jayje?" Emily asked, turning her head. "Oh, God," she said, instinctively wrapping am arm around Gabby's shoulder.

"He found us," Gabby said, obviously horrified at the thought, burying her face into Emily's side. The light turned green and JJ pressed the gas.

"What do we do?" Emily asked, she hadn't expected Ian to find them. He was following the car at a close distance.

"We'll lose him," JJ said, pressing harder on the gas, weaving in and out of other cars as fast as she could. Emily stole a look behind her, relieved to see that Ian's car was no longer trailing them.

"Okay," she said softly, "It's okay,'

She spoke too soon. The next thing any of them knew, the car was flung backwards by the impact of Ian Doyle's car. Somehow, he'd gotten in front of JJ and had head-on collided with JJ's car.

Emily felt Gabby tighten her hold on her. "You okay?" she asked. She received a quiet "yes," then realized JJ had said nothing.

"Jayje?" Emily asked, on the verge of tears. "JJ! Talk to me!" But she got no response. She was working on getting hers and Gabby's seatbelts undone so she could call for an ambulance, but she felt something grab her arm and hold it back.

"Hello, Love," she heard, the voice sending chills up her spine.

"Leave us alone," she said bitterly, trying to pull away from Ian's grasp.

"I'm going to cut you out of those belts, and then you and the girl are going to come with me, do you understand?"

"No, Ian. We're not coming with you. _I'm _going to undo these seatbelts, _I _am going to call 911 for my best friend up there, who, I swear to God if anything happens to her I _will _end you, and then I am taking my daughter home," she growled through clenched teeth.

But Ian didn't listen, he didn't respond. He cut Emily's seatbelt and pulled her out, crawling into the seat where Emily had once been and cut Gabby's belt as well, the little girl crying and protesting the entire time. As soon as she was out, Emily picked her up again.

"Ian, someone has to call 911 for JJ! She has a family, she has people that need her!" She yelled. He sighed, but called 911 from his phone, reporting the accident.

"Now come on," he said, pulling Emily by the arm into another car- one Emily hadn't even noticed before. The man driving was the other man from Gabby's drawing. The man that the police had identified, but couldn't find. Ian forced Emily and Gabby into the backseat, as he took the front seat himself.

"Drive," he instructed, and the man did as he was told. Emily had no idea where they were going, no idea if JJ was going to be okay, and no idea what was going to happen next. Emily had literally just gotten Gabby back into the States, and now Ian had them both again. She wanted to cry, but she didn't. She focused all her attention on calming down a still hysterical Gabby. At least, this time Gabby wasn't alone, she had Emily with her now.


	19. Chapter 19

**I ended up writing most of this while I was in the car this weekend, since I spent quite a bit of time there. Thanks everyone for your continued interest and motivation for this story! :)**

**-kbrewster.**

When Hotch had gotten the phone call about JJ, he could swear he felt his heart stop. JJ had been taken to the hospital after being knocked unconscious by a head on collision. Emily and Gabby were nowhere to be found. As soon as he was told the back seat belts had been cut, he knew this was Ian Doyle's doing.

He had dropped Will and Henry off at the hospital, and waited with them until they heard anything about JJ. They were told that she was fine, she just had a concussion but that she would be okay and back to normal in a few days. He was thankful JJ was going to be okay, he couldn't imagine anything ever happening to her. JJ was supposed to be kept until the next morning, and she sent Will and Henry home to rest. Hotch dropped them both off back at their house, then he left to clear his head, giving the two of them time alone.

He had sent Jack to Jessica's, unwilling to let his son be alone despite his age. Then, he let himself break down. He went back to his house, since it had been cleared for being used for evidence, but no one had been back yet. He went inside, slowly walking up the stairs into Gabby's room. He looked around, growing angrier and and angrier each second that neither Gabby nor Emily would be home that night. He allowed himself to cry, something he had tried not to do, especially around Emily. He sank to the floor, leaning his back against the wall, crying into his hands.

When he decided he couldn't cry anymore, he rose to his feet. He was still angry. He was sick and tired of Doyle hurting the people he loved the most. He went out into the hall and paced back and forth, but it did nothing to calm him. He became so frustrated, he punched the wall, putting a hole right in it. He winced a little at the pain from the impact, pulling his hand toward him, noting the slightly skinned knuckles. He waved it off, not caring enough to do anything about it. Then, he did the only thing he could think to do.

He called Derek Morgan. He was taken aback when he answered, since he had not been answering his calls lately.

"Morgan?" He asked.

"Hotch?"

"Yeah."

"What is it?" Morgan asked, hearing the sadness and desperation in his voice.

"He's got them, both of them. I don't know where Emily and Gabby are. Please, Morgan. We need you on this case." Hotch practically begged.

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, sounding concerned.

Hotch went into detail, describing everything from the first incident at the Aquarium, to Gabby's kidnapping, to the accident.

Morgan said he would do whatever it took to help. He hoped to be there by the next day. Hotch was eternally grateful for Morgan's sudden change of heart.

"Thank you," Hotch said sincerely. "I need them back,"

"I'll do whatever I can to do that for you. I'm sorry I basically shut you out before. It was just... a lot to handle,"

"I know. I'm sorry too,"

"Don't be. Thanks for keeping her alive," Morgan said softly.

"I'll see you soon," Hotch said, not knowing what else to say.

"I'll keep in touch," Morgan promised, as the two of them ended their call. Hotch spent the rest of the night talking to local police, hoping to get them to invite Morgan's team on the case. He would stop at nothing, he wouldn't accept no for an answer. He would get Emily and Gabby back no matter what.  
>_._._._._._._._._._._._.<p>

Emily, Gabby, Ian, and Paul were still driving. Emily knew they were headed North. They seemed to be on the road to Boston. _Of course_, she thought to herself. Where else would they be going? They had been driving for almost two hours, and Emily had only just gotten Gabby to calm down a few minutes ago. The younger brunette had stopped crying, but was leaning into Emily and hadn't spoken a word yet.

"We're going to Boston," Emily said as a statement, not a question.

"Yes," Ian confirmed.

"Why?" Emily asked.

"We're going to end this where it all started, that's all I'll say. Now, quiet, love, we still have a long drive ahead,"

Emily rolled her eyes, but bit her tongue, preventing herself from saying something that might set Ian off. She refused to do anything that put Gabby's safety in jeopardy.

"How did you find us?" Emily asked. "You were supposed to be back at the villa in an hour,"

"I was. Got held up here, though. I had someone watching the house. They saw you leave, they contacted me, and then I found you. Not that hard, really,"

"There are other ways to do this, you know. You want to get back at me for doing my job? Fine. But you don't have to bring my daughter into it. None of this is her fault. Let her go home, and take me with you instead," she tried, knowing that it would get her nowhere, but she was desperate to get Gabby to safety.

"We've been over this, Love. You took Declan from me. I tried taking her from you, but you seemed to have other plans. So now, I'm taking you both," he explained. Emily had never wanted to punch him in the face more than she did in that moment. Instead of continuing the argument, she sat back in the seat, defeated in her attempts for now.

They drove in silence for another hour, and if they were really driving the whole way, they still had hours to go. Emily knew it was at least an 8 hour drive to Boston from DC. Gabby was growing more restless by the minute.

"Ian," Emily said quietly.

"What, Love?" Emily wished he would stop calling her that.

"It's getting late, why don't we stop somewhere for the night?" She asked.

She heard him chuckle lowly. "Are you crazy?" He asked, turning in his seat to look at them. "We'll surely get caught if we do that."

"No we won't. Gabby's getting restless. She had to sit on the plane the whole flight from Italy, anow now we're apparently driving the whole way to Boston. You need to at least stop somewhere, so I can get her some food, and some things to keep her entertained for the rest of the trip," she told him.

"I don't _need_ to do anything. Besides, I haven't heard her complain once,"

"In case you haven't noticed, you've scared her. So badly, she hasn't said a word in hours. Now are you going to listen to me, or not?" Emily pressed. Even though Gabby had been calmer for awhile now, she hadn't been still yet. She had been picking her nails, kicking her legs back and forth, playing with the hem of Emily's jacket, or switching her position from leaning up against the window to leaning against Emily, constantly for the past hour. Emily knew it was because of all the traveling and that she was growing bored.

Ian sighed, staring at Emily for a long moment, before dropping his eyes to Gabby.

"I suppose we need to switch cars anyway, can't risk someone having seen the plates. Paul, drop us off at whatever store you find open, then get another car and come pick us back up," he instructed and Paul agreed.

A few minutes later, Paul had dropped the three of them off at a Wal-Mart. Emily got out of the car, followed by Gabby. Emily grabbed Gabby's hand and held it tightly. Then, she felt Ian grab onto her arm.

"You try anything, I'll leave you here and take the girl with me. I'll make sure you never see her again. Understood?" He said into her ear, just loud enough for her to hear.

"I'm not going to, Ian," Emily said, backing away from him and taking the lead into the store. Before he could say anything else, she led Gabby into the bathrooms, knowing it was the one place Ian wouldn't follow them. She looked around, considering trying to find a way to sneak the both of them out without Ian's knowledge, but she didn't. She wouldn't risk getting caught and possibly having herself separated from Gabby again. And if she was being completely honest, she was sick of running away.

After Gabby had washed her hands, Emily bent down to be eye level with her. Emily could see how scared she was, even if she hadn't voiced it yet. Emily had always been able to tell how much like Hotch their daughter was. She could practically recall every moment in which she compared her actions or her features to his. However, now, she realized how much of herself she saw in Gabby, too. She recognized the look on her face, and noticed the way Gabby's eyes mirrored her own when she was upset or worried.

"It's okay," Emily said calmly, allowing herself to smile at Gabby. "We're together this time, and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Your Daddy's most likely already looking for us,"

Gabby nodded, but still said nothing.

Emily reached out and cupped Gabby's face with her hand. "I know you're not a big fan of talking about stuff, I never have been either," Gabby seemed to perk up at this.

"Really?" Gabby asked, her voice just above a whisper.

"Really," Emily confirmed. "I hated talking about stuff that was bothering me when I was younger. But I learned the hard way that it's okay to trust people, and it's okay to talk about things with them," Emily explained. "That's why when I can tell you're upset about something, I make you talk to me, even if you say you don't want to,"

"Oh," Gabby said. "I didn't know you kept stuff from people too,"

"I used to. I still do, sometimes. But you know you can always tell me anything, right?" Emily asked.

"I know. That's why I always tell you even if sometimes you're annoying," Gabby said quietly. Emily had to laugh at that. She hugged Gabby, keeping her arms wrapped around her when the embrace ended.

"Do you wanna ask me anything while we're here by ourselves?"

Gabby thought for a moment before finally asking, "Why are we going to Boston?"

"That's- that's where Ian and I me for the first time..." Emily settled on saying.

"But why is he taking us there now? What is he going to do?"

Emily sighed."I don't know, Gabby. But someone will find us. And I won't let him hurt you,"

"What if he hurts you again?" Gabby asked quietly.

"Whatever happens, we'll get back home where we belong," Emily told her. She couldn't promise Ian wouldn't try to hurt her again. In fact, she was almost counting on it. Last time they had been in Boston, Ian had nearly killed her. Of course, she wouldn't let that happen this time.

"Anything else?" Emily asked after a few moments of silence.

"I don't wanna get back in the car," Gabby complained, sounding a little more like herself. "It's no fun and it makes me feel sick,"

"I know, I'm sorry. But, actually, you probably don't feel good because you haven't eaten anything in awhile," Emily reminded her.

"No, it's because I want to go home," Gabby insisted. Emily gave her a small smile, moving to stand behind Gabby and take the elastic out of her hair, fixing the pony tail that had fallen down.

"Tell you what, we'll get you something while we're here, and if you still get sick, aim for Ian's shoes," Emily joked, causing Gabby to actually laugh a little.

"Deal," Gabby agreed.

Emily took Gabby's hand, then led Gabby out of the bathroom, where Ian was waiting for them nearby.

"Took you long enough," he said impatiently.

Emily rolled her eyes. "You'll be okay. Now come on, I'm going to buy some snacks for Gabby and some things for her to do the rest of the ride, since you insist on driving the whole way,"

She saw him start to protest, but then he stopped, and motioned for her to walk in front of him. Emily led Ian around the store, purposefully walking slower than normal, mostly to give Gabby more time to be out of the car, but if she was being honest, she was also doing it just to annoy Ian.

"Okay, we need to leave now," Ian said quietly, after they had checked out.

"You good now, Gabby?" Emily asked. Gabby nodded, so the three of them went outside and found Paul, who had since gotten a different car. Instead of a black SUV, he had some sort of sports car. Great, so they'd be even more cramped than they already were. Gabby got into the car, and Emily got in next to her. They still had hours to go, and Emily wished she and Gabby would be able to sleep, but she knew neither of them would be getting much tonight.


	20. Chapter 20

Hours later, Emily felt the car slow to a stop. She opened her eyes, as she hadn't actually managed to get any sleep. She glanced down at Gabby, who had fallen into a restless sleep about an hour ago. Gabby was sitting sideways, her head resting against Emily's side, her legs bent at the knees in front of her. Emily smiled briefly, then turned her attention to her surroundings. The warehouse. Ian had brought them back to the warehouse. She had expected it, and she only hoped that Hotch would recall where everything had taken place a decade ago, and lead help to them.

Suddenly, Emily felt the door open roughly.

"Out," Ian said, pulling her by the arm.

Emily pulled away, unbuckling her seat belt then unbuckling Gabby's as well. Gabby stirred, opening her eyes sleepily.

"Hi," Emily smiled. "We're here,"

"'Kay," Gabby replied.

"Come on," Emily said, sliding out of the car, holding a hand out for Gabby to take.

As soon as Gabby hopped out of the car, Ian led them inside, Paul right behind them. Emily looked around the familiar place. It honestly hadn't changed much in ten years. It looked older, and it smelled of mold and dust, but appearance wise, not much had changed. She hated it here. She hated that she was familiar with it, and she hated that Gabby was being exposed to it.

Ian stopped abruptly, looking right past Emily to Paul. Ian nodded his head and Paul grabbed Emily's arms while Ian pulled Gabby out of Emily's grasp, and picked her up. The nine year old immediately began to kick and scream in protest.

"No! Ian! What are you doing?" Emily screamed, trying to fight her way out of Paul's grasp. "Gabby! It's gonna be okay, honey," She said, knowing her attempts to calm the terrified girl wouldn't work.

"Now, now, love. Don't worry," he smirked, turning to walk away, still carrying a hysterical Gabby.

"If you hurt her, I swear to God-" She started, before being cut off. Paul was strong, he had managed to wrap an arm around her neck from behind her, making her basically immobile.

"I'm not going to hurt her, I'm going to hurt _you_," he said again. The next thing Emily knew, Paul held a gun to her head. She didn't even know where he had gotten it or how long it had been in his possession. He spun her around, and started leading her the opposite way Ian was taking Gabby.

She continued to hear Gabby's cries, and began to cry herself. She didn't know what was going to happen, she didn't know where he was taking Gabby. All she knew was she was defenseless, something she wasn't used to feeling.

It was silent, except for the sounds of Emily's small sobs. Paul led them into a room, and released his grip on her, pushing her out of the way. Emily stumbled a little, but kept her balance.

"Why are you doing this?" she choked out. "What's he doing to her?" she was panicking. Her body was shaking, and she knew if she didn't calm down, she would be sobbing uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," Paul said. He sounded sincere, but Emily didn't trust him for a second. "He's not going to hurt her, he promised me,"

"Why would he promise _you_ that?" Emily sniffled, using her wrist to stop her now running nose.

"Because I tried to get out after we tried to take her the first time. She got away from me. I figured she was pretty smart, so I let her go. I got a niece and a nephew at home, and I'm not real close to either of them. But I kept thinking about them, what if somebody took them away like that? Didn't set right. I tried to get out, but he came back to DC and found me. Threatened my sister and her kids, so I had no choice. I have to help him. But I made him promise not to hurt the girl,"

Emily raised an eyebrow at him. "You just held me at gunpoint, how do I know you're not lying?"

"Just trust me," Paul said, quickly putting his gun away.

"I don't trust people, Paul. Not that easily. Get her back to me, and we'll see," she said. She didn't trust him. She might never be able to. She had been a profiler long enough to tell when someone was being truthful, and she could tell he was. But she wasn't about to let her guard down, not for a second.

"I'll see what I can do, okay? Just go with it for now," Paul said quietly.

Emily said nothing. A few seconds later, an angry Ian burst through the door.

"That kid's definitely yours," he said lowly.

"What do you mean?" Emily asked. "What did you do to her?" she said louder, another round of panic sinking in.

"I took her to a different room. She's fine," he said before extending his arm to Emily, revealing a nice set of red marks, obviously left from Gabby's fingernails.

Emily smirked, gaining some confidence. "Serves you right," she said simply.

Ian shot her an angry look before turning his attention elsewhere. "Is it ready?" he asked Paul, who nodded. "Good,"

Then, Ian set a computer screen in front of Emily. It was blank, but the light at the top was flashing green.

"What's this for?" Emily asked.

"You'll see," Ian said, pushing Emily down into the lone chair at the center of the room.

"Seriously, Ian?" She asked, rolling her eyes. "You're trying to recreate that night, aren't you? You're not going to win, Ian. Not this time,"

"I don't consider our last encounter as a win," he commented, tying her hands behind her back before moving to tie her legs down, too.

"I do, I had to leave everything and everyone I loved. And you know, technically, I _did _die," she said.

"But of course, that fighting spirit brought you back. Face it, Emily, we're both older now. But no one's looking for you. You don't have a team to get in the way this time. And, I have the person who means the most to you locked up in another room. Which, by the way, explains the camera. She can see you, but you can't see her,"

"Ian, no. Please don't let her see-" she was cut off by Ian's hand over her mouth.

"The more you fight me, the worse it gets for you, which means that's more she has to watch you suffer,"

"I hate you," she spat when he removed his hand.

"Feeling's mutual, Love," he smirked at her.

"_Stop _calling me that! Lauren Reynolds was your love. I'm not. I never was," she said bitterly.

"Whatever you say. Now, we can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way. Take your pick,"

"Just get me out of this damn chair," Emily said.

"Still got a mouth on you, hmm? Do you talk like that around your daughter? You never spoke like that around Declan. When we were together, though-"

"Ian!" Emily yelled. "Shut up,"

"Bad idea, Love," he said, as he brought his hand forcefully to her cheek. Emily could tell without looking he'd left a hand print there, but she didn't let it phase her.

"What do you want?" Emily asked. "There's got to be a reason for this nonsense. Why are we doing this? If you want me dead, then go ahead. Kill me. Aaron will find Gabby. Then, he'll kill you," Emily said. The last thing she wanted was to die. She had been prepared for that ten years ago. She had went willingly to find Ian knowing she wouldn't make it out alive. She was honestly surprised when she had. But now, she wasn't ready. She didn't want to leave Gabby, but she wouldn't let Ian see it. She would continue to appear strong in front of him.

"I'll let both of you go, if you tell me one simple thing," Ian said.

"What?"

"Where's Declan? If he's really still alive. I spent so long searching for him, and I couldn't. Where is he?" Ian asked, bringing his face within centimeters of Emily's.

"I don't know," Emily said, receiving yet another hit to the face from Ian.

"Stop lying to me! You _know _where he is!"

"No, I don't Ian. After you found me ten years ago, I had him relocated. Him, Louise, and the _father who raised him,_" Emily stressed the last few words, knowing it would set him off, but also knowing it would distract him, maybe to the point of messing up to give Emily an opportunity to run.

"Where did they go?" Ian said again, obviously angered, gripping her shoulders tightly in his hands.

"_I don't know,__" _Emily said again. "I called and told them to move, and they did. I don't know where they went. Besides, Declan's grown by now. You won't be able to manipulate him to do what you want anymore," Emily said again.

"He's _my _son. He's not yours. He never was,"

"I'm aware, Ian," Emily said back.

"Well, if you want to play it like this, then we will. Neither you nor the girl leaves here until you tell me where my son is. She doesn't leave the room she's in, and you don't leave this one,"

Emily said nothing, not wanting to give Ian the pleasure of watching her break down. Not yet. She bit her lip to keep herself from either speaking or crying.

"Silent treatment, huh?"

Emily continued to bite her lip.

"Have it your way, Love. The longer you continue to be stubborn, the longer you and the girl stay here,"

"You know," Emily spoke up. "She has a name. Her name is Gabby. You never call her anything but _the girl _and it's rather annoying,"

"Don't change the subject. I assume, you would do exactly what I'm doing right now, if you were trying to get your precious_ Gabby _back. Would you not?"

"No," Emily said quickly. "No, because I'd never ask _anybody _to raise her to become a terrorist. I'd never let her be exposed to anything like that. Just like I wouldn't let Declan be a part of that life. I'd never be in your position," Emily said bitterly.

"Answer me this, and I'll consider untying you," Ian said after a long moment.

"What?" Emily asked, sitting up a little straighter.

"Is Declan even still alive, or were you lying to me to buy yourself some time?"

Emily stared at him before she answered. "He's really alive, Ian. I'd never kill him. I sent him away to protect him. I told you that. I wouldn't lie to you about his existence. I'm also not lying when I say I have _no idea _where he is. That was kind of the point, you know," she finished.

"I don't believe you don't know. You lied about a lot before. Lying's a hard habit to break," he taunted.

"You'd know all about that, wouldn't you Ian? You were particularly good at lying to Declan, weren't you? For someone who wanted to raise his son to be a _warrior,_" she mocked his description Ian had once used, "you sure kept an awful lot from him. Admit it. You didn't want him to be you, did you? You wanted him to be anything but you,"

"Shut up!" he yelled, hitting her repeatedly. "Stop talking! You don't even know what you're talking about! I love Declan. He's my son. You don't have any idea what I went through to even have him be born in the first place!" He continued, his rage only increasing.

Rather than untying Emily from the chair, he simply cut all the ropes, grabbing Emily by the shoulders and throwing her against the wall, pinning her against it with his body. She felt her entire body start shaking, her heart felt like it might beat right out of her chest, but she didn't show it.

"I don't doubt that you love him," Emily said, surprised at how calm she was able to sound, despite her fear. "I never doubted that. But, Ian, it's been almost twenty years. He's lived a completely different life. Just let him be," she pleaded.

Ian pulled Emily forward, before throwing her up against the wall again. She sank down to the ground, hiding her face, unwilling to let him- or Gabby for that matter- see her tears.

"Like Hell I'll just _let him be_!" Ian screamed, letting out another yell of frustration before kicking Emily's side. Without another word, he stalked out of the room.

When Emily was sure he had left, she peeked out from behind her hands. She tried to control her rapid breathing as she lifted the hem of her shirt. Her side was already beginning to bruise. She didn't even want to think about the condition her back was in. She forced herself to stand up, biting her lip to keep herself from crying out in pain. She slowly walked to the chair, and sat herself in it. It was rather uncomfortable, but it was better than sitting in the floor. The concrete floor and brick wall would only hurt her back more, she decided.

She had forgotten Paul was still in the room, and she jumped a little when he cleared his throat.

"You really pissed him off," Paul said, breaking the silence, she noticed he was unplugging the laptop that sat on the table in the room, but she didn't ask questions.

"Really? Didn't notice," Emily said, leaning back into the chair as best she could. "Where is he going? He's not going to hurt Gabby is he?"

"Doubt it. He doesn't want to hurt her, he just wants to hurt you,"

"Go make sure," Emily said quickly. "Please. I can't go check on her,"

"Okay, I'll be right back,"

"Thank you," Emily said sincerely. She still wasn't sure if she should trust him. She wasn't sure she wanted to. But she had to try to find some positive in this situation, and if Paul happened to be her one outlet to possibly getting the hell out of there, then she supposed she would use it.

He came back a few minutes later. Emily instantly shot up in her seat, wincing as she did so at the movement.

"So?" Emily asked.

"Good news," Paul said. "Ian left. The car's gone. I can bring her in here for maybe five minutes or so,"

"Really?" Emily breathed. "I can see her?"

"Quickly. I don't know when he'll be back," he said. "I'll go get her,"

Emily shook her head, and forced herself to stand up.

"No, let me go to her. She might not come with you. I need to be the one to go to her," Emily said. She was a bit skeptical, she wasn't completely convinced Paul was being truthful. But her mind was solely focused on Gabby. So, she followed Paul to the other end of the warehouse, her body sending a shooting pain through her with each step.

Paul opened the door Gabby was supposedly in, and Emily walked in slowly, glancing back at Paul. He nodded his head, motioning for her to keep going.

Emily took a breath, and looked around for Gabby. She found the girl hiding under the table her own computer was placed on. The one Emily knew Ian was making her watch from.

"Gabby?" Emily said softly, making her way over to the frightened girl.

Gabby's head shot up at the sound of Emily's voice. "Mama?" she asked as she crawled out from under the table. "Mommy!" she said, as she stood and ran into Emily's awaiting arms. Emily stumbled a little at the impact, her body still screaming at her, but she didn't care. She wrapped her arms tightly around Gabby, wishing she had the strength to pick her up, to run away and never look back.

"It's okay, baby. I'm okay," Emily said, trying to calm Gabby down.

"No you're not. I saw what he did," Gabby said, burying her face in Emily's shirt.

"I know, I'm so sorry," Emily fought back tears. "I'm really okay, though,"

"Are we leaving now?" Gabby asked hopefully.

"No, sweetie. We're not leaving yet. Ian took the car, so Paul brought me here to see you. I can't stay very long, though,"

"Isn't he a bad guy too?" Gabby asked, looking up at Emily.

Emily but her lip, but shook her head. "No, honey. But Ian thinks he is, so we're going to pretend he is, too. Around Ian, anyway. So don't tell Ian I was here,"

"Okay," Gabby said, tightening her grip around Emily's waist. They stayed like that, until Paul said Emily should leave now.

Emily pulled away from Gabby's embrace to bend down to her level.

"I have to go back now, okay?"

Gabby shook her head, throwing her arms around Emily's neck. "No! You just got here,"

Emily rubbed a hand up and down Gabby's back. "I know, I know. But I'll be back whenever I can. We'll just have to get through this until someone finds us," Emily said, wishing it wasn't the case, wishing they could just go home.

Gabby sniffled, but Emily felt her nod her head against her. Gabby pulled away from Emily. "We need a sign," Gabby said quickly. "So I know you're okay. If he... if he hurts you again,"

"Okay," Emily agreed. "That's a good idea. What do you want the sign to be?"

Gabby thought for a moment. "Do this!" she said finally, touching her finger to her nose. "Jack showed me that. He said he did that when he played baseball. He was the catcher," she said proudly.

"I didn't know Jack ever played baseball..." Emily said.

"Only for a couple of years. Then he stuck to soccer," Gabby informed her mother.

Emily smiled for the first time since they had been taken. "Okay. I'll do that so you know I'm alright," Emily promised. She gave Gabby a kiss on the forehead, before standing and following Paul out of the room. Leaving Gabby scared and all alone in that room was probably the hardest thing Emily had ever done. But she couldn't shake the feeling that they wouldn't be here long. She knew Aaron Hotchner, and she knew he would stop at nothing to get her and Gabby back.

She went back into her own room, and sat down in the chair as Paul plugged the camera back up.

"Thank you," Emily said. "That means a lot,"

"Sorry I can't do more than that," Paul said.

She nodded, letting him know she understood. She leaned back into the chair as much as she could without feeling any pain, and closed her eyes. She knew she'd never be able to sleep, but she hoped the few minutes of quiet would somehow renew her strength.

**A/N: You didn't think I could be mean the _whole _chapter, did you? I'm not even that mean ; ) Also! The next chapter will probably solely focus on Hotch, JJ, and some other team members as they try to find Gabby and Emily : )**


	21. Chapter 21

**I had to split this chapter up so it wasn't too long, but that just means there's another chapter between here and the end ; ) **

**-kbrewster.**

Ian Doyle had been driving around in circles. The sun was starting to come up. Now, so he'd been out for at least a couple of hours. He was confused and angry. Partly at Emily for going to such extremes to keep him away from Declan and partly at himself. When he found Emily and Gabby in Paris, he had every intention of getting his revenge on Emily. His plans seemed to keep failing. He wanted to take Gabby, just like Emily took Declan. He wanted Emily to come looking for the girl, and then he wanted to kill them both. At least, that's what he thought he wanted in the beginning.

Being around Emily again made him remember Lauren. He knew Lauren Reynolds was just her cover name. He knew Lauren Reynolds didn't exist, at least not in the same way he existed; not in the same way Emily Prentiss existed. He couldn't help but wonder how much of Lauren Reynolds was actually Emily Prentiss. Was she really that good at making people fall in love with her? Did she really _enjoy _having intimacies with just anyone? No, he told himself. All of the emotions on her end couldn't have been forced. He could see it in her eyes every time he looked into them, every time they uttered the words "I love you", every time they made love. She loved him, maybe just as much as he loved her. Maybe he still did, he wasn't sure. She also loved Declan, that much he knew. She was always good with him, she always seemed to know what was wrong before anyone else did. She put her own life on the line for his. You couldn't fake that, either. Ian knew that. In fact, he could recall the first time he'd ever seen Lauren and Declan interact. That was how he knew he could easily fall in love with Lauren Reynolds.

**Summer 2003**

Ian had just returned from a deal- one he'd had to go on without Lauren. When he left, the brunette had still been in bed, sleeping peacefully. Rather than wake her and disturb her, he left her a note, promising to return quickly. He kissed her lightly on the forehead, and then he left.

It had taken him all day to complete the job, the sun had set now. He knew it was just about time for Declan to go to bed, if he wasn't in bed already. The possibility lead Ian to open the door to the Italian villa slowly, hoping it wouldn't creak loudly. He crept up the stairs, eyebrows furrowing at the sound of laughter coming from Declan's bedroom. He checked his watch again, making sure he was right about the time. Declan should have been in bed at least an hour ago.

Confused, he walked slowly to the door, standing right outside the doorframe out of sight. He expected to see Louise in the room with the boy, trying to get him to calm down enough to go to bed. He was honestly surprised at what he saw.

"Are you tired yet?" Lauren asked, grabbing an animated Declan from off the bed he had been jumping on, the little boy squirming in protest.

"Nope!" Declan exclaimed as Lauren let him down. She put her hands on her hips, furrowing her eyebrows as if in deep thought. "Hmm… you know what'll make you sleepy?" Lauren asked the boy.

"What?" Declan asked, spinning around in circles, his burst of energy seeming to never end.

"The tickle monster!" Lauren said excitedly, picking the boy up and sitting herself on Declan's bed, with Declan in her lap. She tickled the boy, sending him into a fit of seemingly uncontrollable giggles. He tried to break free, but Lauren didn't let him go. She too, was giggling like a child, as if she didn't want to be anywhere else but where she was- with Declan.

Their game continued for a few minutes, before Lauren stopped, sitting him upright in her lap again allowing him to catch his breath from all the laughing and wiggling he'd been doing.

"That was fun, Lauren!" Declan said happily. "I like you," he continued, throwing his little arms around her neck. Lauren smiled. Ian had never seen her smile like that in the time he'd known her, and he liked it. It made her more exceedingly beautiful than she already was.

"It was fun, thank you for letting me play with you," she told him. "But," she added. "I think it's way past somebody's bedtime. Mister 'I'm-not-tired!'"

"I'm still not-" he yawned. "Tired," he finished, laying his head on Lauren's shoulder.

"Mhm, I'm sure you're not," Lauren said, laughing lightly at the boy. "What about if you lay down, and I read you a story?"

"Okay!" Declan agreed, sliding himself off of Lauren's lap, walking over to the small bookcase in his room, carefully picking out the perfect bedtime story. He went back over to Lauren, extending the book out to her.

"_Goodnight Moon," _Lauren read the title. "Sounds good," she smiled. "Hop on up here and lie down so I can read it," she said, turning down the covers on the bed, allowing Declan to climb in. She pulled the covers up to his chin, ruffling his hair lightly as she sat next to him on the edge of the bed. She read the story, using different voices and making silly faces, causing Declan to laugh tiredly.

By the end of the book, Declan's eyes were closing involuntarily. Lauren stood up, and placed the book over on Declan's night stand.

"Goodnight, Declan," she said softly, kissing his forehead and straightening out the covers.

"Goodnight, Lauren," Declan mumbled sleepily. "Thanks for the story," he added, before finally closing his eyes, falling asleep nearly instantly.

Lauren tip-toed out of the room, quietly closing the door behind her. She jumped when she saw Ian standing by the door.

"Jesus!" She whispered harshly. "You scared me,"

"Sorry, Love," he said, pulling her in for a kiss.

When they broke apart, Lauren still had that smile plastered on her face. Ian loved it.

"What is it, Love?" Ian asked, pretending he hadn't witnessed the entire scene.

"It's just… I spent the day with Declan. He's so adorable!" Lauren gushed. Normally, she accompanied him on deals. She'd hardly spent any time at all with Declan before today.

"He's a good kid," Ian said.

"Yeah," Lauren agreed. "Louise was busy trying to get stuff done, and I could hear him begging her to play with him. Since I was stuck here all day, I decided to take him to let her work. Then tonight, he kept claiming he wasn't tired, no matter how many times Louise put him down. So I offered to go play with him to tire him out. I guess it worked, because now he's asleep," she said excitedly, obviously somewhat proud of herself.

"I saw you reading to him," Ian admitted. "You're good with him,"

"I've never really been around kids much before," Lauren said.

"Well, you're great at it. You'll make a fine mother someday," Ian told her honestly. Watching Lauren's excitement over spending time with Declan, seeing how much she seemed to care about him already- that was the moment Ian knew he was in love with Lauren Reynolds.

**May 2021 (Present Day)**

Ian thought he hated her now. But he couldn't seem to shake those old feelings from his mind. He couldn't look at Emily and not remember Lauren. He wanted Lauren to marry him- he wanted her to be Declan's mother. He wanted them to become a family. Instead, he lost everything he ever loved. It didn't make sense to him.

Emily had made sure Declan was unable to be located. Wherever he was, she was damned good at keeping it a secret. Was he really that bad? Such a horrible father that the existence of his own son had to be kept a secret from him? He knew what he did for a living. On some small level, he knew it was wrong. He knew he was a criminal, wanted in more than one country at that time in his life. But to him, it was the job. It was how he provided for Declan. Maybe it wasn't the best environment to raise a child in, but he was sure he could have made it work. He wished he would have tried a little harder, listened to _Lauren _more. Maybe if he'd listened to her, maybe if he'd let her get him out, they'd be a family right now. But he was here, Lauren didn't exist, and Declan had been raised by somebody else and was now grown up.

He stopped at a red light, and hit the steering wheel repeatedly, yelling out in anger, frustration, and maybe even a little bit of sadness. He couldn't do it, he decided. He couldn't kill Emily. He couldn't kill Lauren. He couldn't kill her daughter, either. Even though he knew that was the one thing he could take away to make her feel like he'd felt all these years. He couldn't do it. He knew how much Gabby meant to Emily. She might have loved Declan like he was hers, but Gabby _was _hers. Even if she'd never mentioned it as Lauren before, he would have known just by how she acted around Declan that she would someday like to have her own child. She had one, now.

As soon as the light turned green, he hit the gas. He didn't even know where in the Hell he was. He pushed all thoughts of Emily, of Lauren, and of Declan out of his mind. He put all his focus onto figuring out where he was and finding the warehouse again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hotch paced the length of his living room, waiting for something, anything really. He had spent nearly all night on the phone with the local police department, begging for them to put in a request for Morgan's team to come help. Morgan's hands were tied until they got the official invite. Nobody seemed like they wanted to help him. It was morning now, he noted. He didn't know how long he'd been pacing.

His phone rang, nearly scaring him to death.

"Hello?" he answered, not bothering to check the name.

"Mr. Hotchner? The request for the help of Unit Chief Derek Morgan's help in finding your wife and daughter has been sent in and approved. They're flying out in an hour," the voice on the other end of the line said.

Hotch sighed in relief, at least now he was on the right track. Gabby had been gone nearly a week, and Emily had been gone over 24 hours by now. He knew he needed to be calmer, to try to rationalize his thoughts. He might have even been able to figure out where they were had he been thinking clearly. But how could he? It was impossible, he decided. He knew he wouldn't be getting any sleep or any kind of closure until he had Emily and Gabby back where they belonged.

So, he did the only thing he could physically make himself do, he continued his pacing. He thought long and hard about Doyle, and what he had done so far. He thought about Emily, and her connection to him when she took on the role of Lauren Reynolds. He paced for awhile, surprised he hadn't burned a hole right through the floor.

Suddenly, everything started to make sense to him. He knew where they were. At least, he thought he knew. If he was right, he'd have Emily and Gabby back in no time. He hurriedly ran around the house, trying to find his phone, calling none other than Derek Morgan when he found it.


	22. Chapter 22

"_Morgan!_" Hotch said once Morgan finally answered his phone after Hotch's third call.

"Hotch? Did something happen? I'm on my way to the office. We're flying out at 10am," Morgan informed him.

"I know where he took them," Hotch said quickly.

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked, genuinely confused.

"I mean I know where he took them, Morgan! He took them to the warehouse he took Emily to. Where he... where," He couldn't say it. For all he knew, Doyle was doing the very same thing he'd done to her ten years ago.

"Are you sure?" Morgan asked.

"I'm pretty sure. He took Gabby back to the villa in Italy. He's probably sticking to places he and Emily know. It makes sense,"

"You might be right. We haven' been invited by Boston police, though. We still have to come to DC," Morgan said a bit sadly.

"Are you sure you can't just meet me in Boston?"

"No, Hotch. You know I can't do that. My team has to work with DC police. We'll get them back, though,"

Hotch sighed. There was just so much protocol to deal with. "Fine," he relented. "See you soon," he hung up the phone and continued his pacing.

He was so angry. He _knew _where they were. But still, he couldn't get to them. He understood how Emily felt just a mere couple of days ago. Had it really only been two days? He wondered. But he understood why Emily just took off to Italy without a word. The waiting game he was being forced to play was taking its toll on him. He considered taking off just like Emily had, going to both of them, saving them from whatever Doyle was doing. He knew it wouldn't be smart, wouldn't be the best decision. But he couldn't shake the thought from his mind.

As if on cue, his phone he still clutched in his hand began to ring.

"Hello?" He answered, not bothering to take a look at the screen.

"Hey," JJ's voice said on the other end. "I just wanted to call and see how you are,"

"I should have called to check on you before now. You're the one in the hospital. I'm sorry," he said, feeling even more guilty than he already was.

"No, no," JJ said. "I'm fine, I get to leave today. Just a bad concussion. No big deal,"

"You were unconscious," Hotch reminded her.

"I'm really fine," JJ assured him. "I promise. Anyway, any word on Em and Gabby?"

Hotch sighed, sitting himself down in the couch, leaning into the back, feeling absolutely defeated.

"Morgan's team is coming to help. JJ, he took them to Boston. To the warehouse. I'm sure of it. But I can't- I can't go there without Morgan's team. Could I?" he asked, almost like he was asking permission. He could picture JJ shaking her head.

"Absolutely not," JJ said sternly, but softly. "I know that's why Em left in the first place to get Gabby. She felt exactly like you do right now. But you can't, Hotch. If it was only Doyle, you could take him. But you know him, he won't be working alone. He never works alone,"

"I know," Hotch groaned. "I know. I just- what if he's- you know what happened in that warehouse, JJ. What if we're not so lucky this time, if you can call us finding her half-dead lucky," he said biterly.

"It's Emily," JJ said simply. "You know just as well as I do that she won't let anything happen to her or Gabby until you get there. She knows you're looking,"

"How can you possibly know that? You've been knocked out for hours,"

JJ laughed lightly on the other end. "Because I know Emily, and I know if you were thinking clearer, you would agree with me,"

"Probably. I just miss them. I can't stand the thought of losing them- not again,"

"I know," JJ said sincerely. "I wish I could do more, but I'm held up here for a few more hours. You'll get them back, okay? Morgan's team is great at what they do,"

Hotch didn't say anything for a few minutes, he wasn't sure what to say.

"Thank you," he said, knowing she would understand. They'd always had a relationship like that. It seemed like they could tell each other anything and the other would always understand or know what to say back.

"Any time, Hotch. You know that,"

"You should rest. Thanks for calling,"

"Don't mention it," she said, and the call ended.

He knew JJ was right. He knew he couldn't just take off to Boston, especially without a plan. He wanted to, and might have had JJ not called. Instead, he used his phone one more time to call Jack, who was still staying at Jessica's. He missed Jack almost as much as he missed Emily and Gabby, even though he was just a few miles away. But he knew it was better for Jack to stay there, it was better that he didn't have to see Hotch breaking down like this. He knew Jack was worried, the teenager had even admitted it in their previous conversation. He didn't want to worry the boy even more by letting him be around the chaos that was sure to happen within the next few days.

After a quick conversation with Jack, Hotch did all he knew to do, he simply waited. He waited for word that Morgan's team had landed, and then he would do whatever it took to make sure he got Emily and Gabby back.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ian stormed into the warehouse, opening the door the such force he could swear he loosened the already rusting hinges. He pushed over anything that might have been in his path, nothing more than a couple of chairs and a table, but it made him feel better.

He burst into Emily's room, finding the brunette sitting in her chair, his entrance caused her to jump. She looked him in the eyes, he wanted to hate her. She should have hated her. For still being alive, for misleading him, for everything. But just like when he'd been driving around, the old feelings crept up. He couldn't hate her. He wished he wanted to kill her. He wished he could go through with it, but he knew even that wouldn't take away the years of pain he'd felt not only for Declan- but for Lauren, too.

"Where have you been?" she asked smugly. She knew she had him, she knew he wouldn't kill her. She'd always known what he was thinking, most of the time before he knew it himself. He couldn't kill her, but roughing her up a bit sounding more appealing to him by the second.

"I've been out," he said icily.

"Still no Declan?" She knew she was pushing it, she knew she was taking it too far. But somehow, she couldn't keep herself from speaking.

"_Where is he?_" he screamed, his voice sending chills down Emily's body. But she didn't flinch. She didn't flinch when he lunged at her, grabbing her by the shoulders, shaking her violently.

"Where is he?" he asked again, almost pleading with Emily.

"I don't know, Ian. How many times are you going to make me tell you that?"

"You have to know! At least an idea!" He continued, pushing her into the wall again, grabbing her by the neck, practically choking her. Emily clenched her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, willing herself not to show how much it hurt, even though the impact from the wall against her already bruised skin was almost more than she could take.

She shook her head against Ian's grip around her neck.

"I don't know," she croaked out. "The first time...they got on the plane, and I never saw them again...I knew where they were that time... in case I needed to get them out..." she coughed, trying to break free from Ian's embrace. She felt him loosen his grip just a little, and she caught her breath before continuing.

"The whole point was to keep them safe," she said after a few beats of silence. "So they knew if I contacted them again, they were supposed to leave. No questions asked, just pack up and leave. So they did ten years ago when I told them you found me. I have _no _idea where they are," she said honestly. She was being truthful. She really didn't know where they went, and it pained her. She loved Declan so much, and it hurt that she had to cut off all ties with him.

At that moment, Ian grabbed her by the shoulders again, throwing her down the the ground. She winced a little, feeling her hands sting with the impact of the cold concrete. She could tell they were scraped up pretty badly, her knees were stinging too.

She felt him kick her in the side. Conveniently in the exact same place he'd managed to kick her earlier, she thought bitterly.

Her mind instantly went to Gabby, who was just a few rooms away, possibly seeing all of this.

"Is that camera on?" she managed to get out.

"Yes," he said, grabbing her by the arm and forcing her stand up, though her still stinging knees protested, practically screaming at her.

Remembering her earlier conversation with Gabby, she subtly brought her hand up to her nose, just like Gabby had showed her. She hoped Gabby had seen it. She then looked at Ian, his eyes wide with fury. A look she'd seen him wear often, rarely was it ever meant for her.

"I can't tell you where Declan is," she said. "Just let us go. I can't give you what you want,"

"You might," Ian said lowly, almost so quietly she barely heard him. She raised her eyebrows at him.

"What do you mean? You want Declan, I get that. I can't tell you where he is," she told him.

"What if I told you I wanted Lauren Reynolds back?"

"Wh-what?" Emily said in disbelief.

"I want Lauren Reynolds back," he repeated, dragging her up from the floor by her arm, her entire body screaming at her in protest.

"No, Ian. I can't- I can't be her. I'm not her," she said, feeling her breath catch in her throat.

He pushed her against the wall again, and Emily could have rolled her eyes. He got as close her her face as he could.

"You either be her again, or I I take your daughter where you'll never find her. If you do as I say, she stays with us," he told her. Since he couldn't kill her, he decided this was his only other option for the revenge he still desired.

Emily didn't know what to say. She could hardly think straight. She felt the tears begin to pool at the corners of her eyes, her heart beating so loudly she was sure Ian could hear it, her whole body felt numb- she could no longer feel the sting she'd felt only moments earlier. She didn't know how to get out of the situation. She couldn't say yes. She didn't love him- not anymore, anyway. She loved Hotch. She wouldn't bring Gabby into it like this. She couldn't. She had to stall, buy whoever was looking for them some time. She knew Hotch was looking for them, she knew he would never give up. She knew them staying in Boston was the best thing. But she didn't know what to do. She always knew what to do, she always had a plan. For the first time since she could remember, she was actually completely clueless.


	23. Chapter 23

Ian let go of Emily, sending her sliding down the wall onto the floor. She put her head in her hands, feeling completely vulnerable. She hated this feeling, she rarely felt it, but when she did it was strong.

"Well?" Ian asked impatiently after a few moments.

Emily moved her hands, looking up at Ian. She had to buy herself some time, she bit her lip as she thought quickly, something she was always good at.

"Bring Gabby in here. Turn the cameras off, and leave us alone for awhile so I can talk to her," she said finally, hearing her voice sound small and scared. "You can stand outside the door. I swear I won't try anything. Just- just get her in here, please, I'll do what you want," she added, regretting the words as soon as she said them. Had she just agreed to being Lauren Reynolds again? After all this time? No. She told herself. She'd only said that to buy time, surely Hotch would be there soon, surely he would find them. If not, she would find a way to escape. She wouldn't be Lauren again, she couldn't.

She watched Ian as he contemplated her request, biting her lip until she tasted blood. He still seemed angry, but much less so than he had been when he stormed in minutes ago. Emily couldn't believe how quickly the tables had turned in just a very few minutes.

"Okay," Ian finally said. "I will be outside. If you try to escape, I'll take her and leave you here, and you'll never see her again. Got it?"

Emily nodded. "Just go get her," she said quietly. Emily wanted to be the one to get her, but she knew Ian wouldn't let her out of the room. If she was being honest, she didn't trust herself. She knew as soon as she stepped out of that room, she would run to Gabby, and she would find a way out. She wasn't prepared to risk that just yet, not until she thought of a plan. A damn good one, at this rate.

Ian turned and stalked off, obviously a bit annoyed with Emily's request, but she was glad he was so far going along with the impromptu plan Emily was creating by the second. She waited anxiously, picking at her nails. She was pretty sure her entire body was bruised, it didn't feel like anything was broken, maybe a couple of ribs were cracked, but she'd be okay. She wanted to stand up to greet Gabby, who Emily knew would be a terrified mess, but she couldn't physically force herself to stand. She was tired, her body was weak, and she just wanted to go home.

A few minutes later, Emily heard the door creak open and she instantly perked up a little. Ian entered the room, Gabby trailing behind him. She wasn't crying, but Emily could tell she had been. Her heart broke at the thought of Gabby all alone in the cold, dark room crying. Despite the dull ache that coursed through her body, Emily sat up straighter against the wall, holding her arms out. Gabby looked at Emily, as if she was afraid to come over to her. Emily knew it was because she'd watched everything that happened.

"Come here, it's okay," Emily said softly. Slowly, Gabby walked over to Emily and sat down next to her. Emily could tell by the look on Gabby's face that she was just seconds away from crying. Emily reached over and pulled Gabby close to her, ignoring the pain shooting through her body as she twisted around to face a trembling and terrified Gabby.

"I'm okay," Emily whispered.

"No you're not," Gabby said, beginning to cry.

"I am,_ ma chere_. It's nothing I can't handle, just a few bumps and bruises," _And possibly a cracked rib or two. _She thought to herself.

Gabby responded by burying her face into Emily's shoulder. "I just want to go home," she said quietly.

"I know, I know," Emily said, running a hand through Gabby's hair. Before she said anything else, she looked to Ian.

"I'll be right outside," he said, walking out the door, and closing it behind him. Emily wondered briefly where Paul had wondered off to. She had hoped Ian would make Paul stay there with them, maybe they could have come up with a plan together. But it seemed like Emily and Gabby were in this alone. Emily held Gabby close, contemplating what they should do. They could go along with it, Emily could pretend to be Lauren Reynolds again. But she didn't want to. She had Hotch now, and she loved him too much to do that to him, even if it was forced. Whatever feelings Lauren had for Ian, they were real. Emily knew she could never let that happen again, not now, not when she had Gabby to think about, not when she had a man who loved her more than life itself out there looking for her. Being Lauren Reynolds simply wasn't an option. Not for long, anyway.

They could try to escape, there had to be a way they could get out of the warehouse and get away before Ian could stop them, but it would have to be one elaborate escape route. They could wait for Ian to leave again, and she could get Paul to get them out, but if Ian took the car, how would she and Gabby get away? They could only walk so far, and Emily knew the warehouse was secluded. They would have to walk for miles before they got anywhere near a bus stop, a train station, an airport. It was too risky. Maybe if she got Paul alone, together they could gang up on Ian, take the car, and leave. But Emily knew if Ian suspected Paul had turned on him, he would have no second thoughts about killing him. It didn't make sense to Emily why Ian hadn't killed her yet, hadn't killed Gabby yet. Any profile would suggest that Ian would go after Emily's child, Emily was his stresser. He thought Emily killed Declan, or had Declan killed, he'd seen the fake pictures Emily herself had taken. Ian should have wanted them both dead. He should have wanted to hurt Gabby and make Emily watch, then end it by killing them both.

He'd killed that one child in D.C., ten years ago hadn't he? Or had he? Emily wondered. Sure, Ian had been behind it, probably had been present when that innocent little boy was shot in the head in front of his father. _But he didn't pull the trigger. _Emily thought suddenly. He _wouldn't _hurt Gabby because he couldn't. Emily knew Paul couldn't hurt her, either. Suddenly, she felt a wave of relief was over her. Ian wasn't going to kill them. He couldn't. He'd loved Lauren Reynolds, and he couldn't kill her. Emily knew it was because she'd done her job, she'd done what she had been sent to do all those years ago. However, knowing that didn't ease the feeling that settled in her stomach as she thought back to everything that had gone on between Ian and Lauren.

Sometimes Emily hated herself for it. But then she remembered Declan, and how she'd given him his life back. How that little boy was able to grow up happy, unharmed, and only vaguely aware of the work Ian Doyle did. It was worth it, she knew that deep down. She looked down at Gabby, who was silently sitting next to Emily, still buried in her mother's shoulder, playing with Emily's fingers as both of them seemed to be lost in their own thoughts.

"Mama?" The little girl finally asked.

"Hm?" Emily asked.

"What are we gonna do?" Gabby questioned, her voice filled with fear. Emily placed Gabby in her lap, ignoring the protests her bruised muscles were sending her.

"I don't know," Emily said honestly, smoothing Gabby's tangled hair.

"But you always know," Gabby said, beginning to cry.

"We'll figure something out, okay?" Emily promised.

"Who's Lauren Reynolds?" Gabby asked suddenly.

Emily sucked in a breath. She'd hoped to never have this conversation with Gabby, to never let her know about the life her mom had once lived. But it seemed inevitable now. She bit her lip before bracing herself to tell the story, a brief version that Gabby could understand without going into too much detail.

"Do you remember how I told you I had to pretend like I was Ian's friend? So I could eventually turn him in and put him in jail?" Gabby nodded her head, sniffling a little.

"Well when I was pretending to be his friend, my name was Lauren Reynolds. It was a fake name the people I worked with invented," Emily continued. It was much harder to bring this up with Gabby than she'd ever imagined.

"He wants you to be his friend again?" Gabby asked. "But I thought he wanted to hurt us. He just- he- I don't understand," Gabby said, obviously confused and frustrated.

"It's confusing, baby," Emily said. "I don't really get it either," she added.

"Is Daddy looking for us?" Gabby asked hopefully.

"I know he's looking for us. It'll be a matter of time before somebody comes to get us," Emily said. She knew that was true. She knew Hotch would turn the world inside out to find them. Because she would do it for him, or for Jack.

Neither of them spoke for awhile, and when Emily glanced back down at Gabby, she saw her eyes fluttering open and closed.

"Come here, lie down," Emily instructed.

"I don't want to hurt you," Gabby insisted.

"I'm fine, honey. You won't hurt me. Just lie down," she said again. Gabby hesitantly laid herself in Emily's lap, practically clinging to Emily's arm that was wrapped round her for dear life.

Emily brushed Gabby's hair with her fingers, like she always did when Gabby couldn't fall asleep.

"I don't want to sleep," Gabby admitted.

"I know, but neither of us have in awhile. Just try to get some sleep while I think of a plan," she said.

"Will you wake me up when you think of one?" Gabby asked.

"Of course I will," Emily confirmed. "Now close your eyes, okay?" Gabby closed her eyes, and Emily played with the girl's hair until Gabby's breathing evened out, and Emily knew she was sleeping.

Emily let herself cry, but only a little, and only for a moment. She knew what she and Gabby had to do, she'd known it all along, really. But she didn't want to admit it to herself. She didn't even want to bring the idea to the forefront of her mind, and she certainly didn't want to vocalize it to Gabby.

They had to run. They had to leave everything behind. Until Ian was dead, they would have to run. If Hotch didn't find them before Ian took them where ever he wanted to, Emily knew she and Gabby would have to find a way to escape. They would have to go somewhere else. Somewhere safer, where nobody knew them. That meant leaving Hotch and Jack behind. It meant leaving JJ behind. It meant leaving everything, again. Emily didn't want to do it. She was sick and tired of running, sick and tired of being somebody else.

But they had to, if nobody found them. She would pretend to be Lauren Reynolds one last time, then they would escape. They would run, exactly where, Emily wasn't sure. But they'd run somewhere, and they wouldn't look back until Ian Doyle was dead. Maybe she could pretend to be Lauren for longer, maybe Hotch would better be able to find them that way, but the thought send chills down Emily's spine. She didn't want to be Lauren again. She'd done it once, and what was done was done. The feelings might have been real at one point, maybe she really had fallen for the ex-terrorist-turned-family-annihilator. Maybe. Maybe Lauren Reynolds could see herself married to Ian Doyle. Maybe she could have raised Declan as her own. Maybe they could have been a family.

But not now, not anymore. Emily had Aaron Hotchner, the man she knew she was meant to fall in love with. She had Jack, who she loved like her own despite their rocky reunion. She and Hotch had a little girl together, one Emily couldn't possibly imagine her life without. She needed both of her parents, she'd been deprived of one of them too long. The four of them were a family, no matter what had happened in the past, and they belonged together. Emily would stop at nothing to make sure it ended that way, the four of them exactly where the belonged, the man standing outside finally out of the way. Emily couldn't remember a time she wasn't worried Ian would find her. For eighteen years the man had controlled her every move. But not anymore, not when Emily Prentiss finally had something to live for.


	24. Chapter 24

**This might seem a bit confusing for now, but I promise by next chapter all your questions will be answered! : )**

Hotch was waiting in the conference room at the police department for Morgan and his team to land. He had been there early, but that didn't stop him from already growing impatient. He sat in a chair, tapping his foot on the ground as he waited. He checked his watch, they should have been here five minutes ago. He knew he was being irrational, but he didn't really care. He just wanted to get Emily and Gabby back.

Finally, Hotch was told the team had arrived. It took all the self control he had left to not sprint down the hall and into the main area, where the team was waiting, along with none other than Derek Morgan. Even after all the years that had passed, he still looked exactly the same. His team even reminded him a bit of their old team years ago. Morgan was the stoic but compassionate unit chief. Five other people were with him: a tall, middle aged blonde man; another man, slightly shorter than the blonde with dark salt and pepper hair. There was also a man who seemed a bit younger than the rest of them by a few years, with dark hair and glasses on his face. He reminded Hotch briefly of Reid. The two other team members were women. One of them was tall, with long, red curly hair and a big smile on her face. The other was the shortest of them all, with light brown, short hair that barely reached her shoulders.

"Hey," Morgan greeted softly.

"Thanks for coming," Hotch said awkwardly.

"I wish this was under different circumstances," Morgan said honestly. "But we'll get them back, okay?"

Hotch nodded, too numb to argue with Morgan. They weren't getting them back until they got to Boston. Morgan's team went on to introduce themselves to Hotch.

"Agent Stephen Dunham," the blonde man said.

"Agent Charles Greene," the older man said.

"Agent Jake Harlan," the younger one said quietly.

"Agent Julia Monroe," the red-headed women said.

"Agent Sophia Burke," the shorter brunette said. They all shook hands as Hotch introduced himself to them.

"Well," Morgan started. "Let's get to work. Doyle's had them for almost three days now,"

"I'm aware," Hotch said quietly.

"We know he took them for revenge, just like he kidnapped Prentiss ten years ago," Morgan continued, ignoring Hotch's previous statement. "He wanted his son, Declan, back. Emily sent him away to keep him away from Doyle. My guess is he's probably still bitter about that,"

"They're in Boston," Hotch spoke up. "I know they are. They have to be. It's the only place he would take them that makes sense."

"He could have taken them anywhere," Morgan said.

"No," Hotch said firmly. "No. He took Gabby to the villa in Italy. Emily went there and got Gabby back, so she was right about where he took her. He's going to stick with places he and Emily know. They met in Boston. That's where they are. I _know I'm right,_" he said, growing more frustrated with each word he spoke.

"If you don't believe me, fine. I'll just go to Boston by myself. I'm not going to sit around here and wait for you to figure out what I already know," Hotch continued, turning around and storming off.

"Hotch, wait!" Morgan called, running after Hotch.

"Do you want to help me or not?" Hotch said, pausing before he reached the door to the police department.

"Of course I do," Morgan said sincerely. "I want to help you, I want to get them back just as bad as you do,"

"Then why aren't you listening to me?"

Morgan sighed, putting a hand on Hotch's shoulder. "I want to. But you and I both know you're not thinking clearly right now. I wouldn't be either if I were you. I just- I want to do this right, okay? I already failed Emily once, I don't want it to happen a second time,"

Hotch closed his eyes and turned around. "Morgan, that wasn't your fault. It wasn't anybody's fault but Doyle's. I've told you that."

"That doesn't mean I haven't thought about it almost every single day since then, Hotch. I'm sorry if you think I've been a little hard on you, but I want to do this the right way,"

"I understand that," Hotch nodded. "But you need to understand that I know where they are. It's already been three days. He's had them long enough to- to do God knows what. We need to get there. Please," Hotch said softly.

"Okay," Morgan replied. "Okay,"

"You mean-"

"We'll take the jet to Boston. I might be breaking all kinds of protocol, but I don't care right now. I will have to get in touch with Boston police, though. So we'll be here for awhile. But Hotch, we're gonna get them back. Today. At whatever cost,"

Hotch could have cried, but he didn't. He chose to save those tears for a later date, when he had Emily and Gabby back, when he wouldn't have to worry about Ian Doyle ever again. He thanked Morgan over and over again as the two of them made their way back to the conference room of the police department with everyone else. Morgan immediately got on the phones, and Hotch sat in a chair and waited- he hoped his waiting was over.

Hotch watched Morgan as he talked on the phone, trying to read his expressions. He grew worried when Morgan's demeanor changed- his voice grew more concerned, he seemed more anxious. Hotch was about to yank the phone from Morgan's hands and demand some answers when Morgan finally hung up.

"What?" Hotch asked. "What is it?"

"You're not gonna believe who I just talked to," Morgan said in disbelief.

"Who?" Hotch asked impatentily.

"Declan Doyle," Morgan replied. Hotch froze.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Gabby stirred in Emily's lap, she'd been sleeping for almost an hour. Emily was no closer to finding a solution than she had been when Gabby had fallen asleep, but Emily could tell the girl was in the middle of a nightmare, so she woke her up.

"Gabby, wake up," she said softly, shifting the girl to a sitting position. "You're okay," she whispered.

Gabby's eyes opened, and she threw her arms around Emily's neck.

"It's okay," Emily said again, rubbing a hand up and down Gabby's back. "It was just a dream,"

"I want to go home," Gabby said quietly.

"I know. I do too," Emily said, rocking Gabby back and forth.

"Do you have a plan yet?" Gabby asked.

"You won't like the only one I've come up with," Emily told her honestly.

"What is it?" Gabby questioned curiously, letting go of Emily's neck to lean back and look at her.

Emily bit her lip. "We run. We hide out. Until we can get a message to your dad. Until we know Ian's- until he's gone,"

"No!" Gabby protested. "No, I don't want to do that- I want to go home!"

"I know, but I don't know how to get us out of here any other way, Gabby. He's going to take us somewhere else soon- and unless I pretend I'm Lauren Reynolds again..." she trailed off, not wanting to remind Gabby what Ian had said.

"He'll take me where you won't find me. I heard him," Gabby said. "But you'll find me,"

"I don't want to take that risk, honey. I don't want to lose you again," Emily told her, leaving out the thought in the back of her mind- that Doyle would harm her. Or get somebody else to do it for him. Either way, Emily would not let Gabby out of her sight.

Gabby sighed, getting out of Emily's lap and sitting on the floor next to her. "Do you remember what you used to tell me? If we ever got separated in a store or something?" Gabby asked.

Emily leaned her head back against the cold brick wall. "That if you were really, really lost, to stay where you are and not try to find me yourself, because you might get more lost," Emily recalled.

"Exactly," Gabby said. "We have to stay here. We have to figure out how to stay here so Daddy can find us,"

"Oh, Gabby," Emily said, tears pooling at the corners of her eyes.

"Is that a bad idea?" Gabby asked.

"No," Emily reassured, putting an arm around the girl's shoulder. "It's a good idea, and you're exactly right. The only way I know how to keep us here is to make Ian angrier at me than he already is,"

"Will he hurt you again?"

"Most likely," Emily confirmed. "I can take it, but I don't want you to have to see it. That's why I wanted to run,"

"I don't want him to hurt you," Gabby said, leaning into Emily's side.

"I'll be fine. Remember our sign?" Gabby nodded. "Okay, good," Emily said.

Before Gabby could respond, the door to the room flung open.

"Okay, you've had your time. Let's move," Ian said quickly.

"No," Emily said.

"Yes, come on Lauren," Ian said, packing up the little equipment that was left in the room.

"No," Emily said firmly, tightening her grip on Gabby as she said it. "I can't lie to you anymore, Ian. It's not fair to you, and it's not fair to Declan,"

At the mention of his son's name, Ian stopped what he was doing. He shot Emily a cold, mean look. One that made Gabby hide her face in Emily's shirt.

"What about him? What do you know?"

"Declan's not alive," she lied, hating herself as she said the words. She would never do anything to jeopardize Declan's safety, not then, and not now even when it had been so long since she had seen him. But she knew this was the only way to get into Ian's head- to use Declan against him. To make him pawn. Like what would have been done had Emily not gotten him to safety before. She wished it wasn't the only thing she knew to do- but they had to stay in Boston, they had to stay in the warehouse. Emily braced herself for whatever reaction Ian would have to her false news.


	25. Chapter 25

**Wow, 100 reviews? You guys are awesome- I never expected this story to get this many reviews! Thank you : ) And special thanks for those of you that review every time I update- it means so much that you enjoy it as much as I enjoy writing it! In other news, this story will probably be wrapping up in about 5 more chapters. But never fear- oneshot tie-ins are your friends ; ) **

"What do you mean you talked to Declan?" Hotch demanded as soon as he was able to speak.

"I called Boston PD, and he just started working there- with a detective,"

"Seriously?" Monroe, the red-headed woman asked. "Isn't that where this whole thing started?"

"It's like hiding in plain sight," Harlan chimed in.

"Well, now Doyle's in Boston too," Burke reminded them. "This could get bad..."

"Which is why we've been invited to work with them," Morgan told them all. "We can still work with the police here, should we need them. But we need to get to Boston as soon as possible,"

"Does Emily know Declan's there?" Hotch asked, horrified at the thoughts of what could be happening there now.

Morgan shook his head. "I don't know- Declan didn't say. Legally his name's not even Declan anymore- he's gone by Tyler Brown since Emily told them Doyle found her ten years ago. It's a complete accident I found him, if I hadn't called that department and brought up this case we'd never have known that was him,"

"So what do we do?" Hotch asked a bit impatiently.

"We're going to take the jet to Boston. Hotch, you're coming with us. Once we get there we'll go to the police department and work with them to get Emily and Gabby back," Morgan explained. Hotch was looking for a more detailed plan, but he figured that was all he was going to get.

Twenty minutes and a phone call to Jack later, Morgan's team, plus Hotch were in the air- headed towards Boston. They talked about their future plan, but with no knowledge of what Emily knew about Declan's whereabouts, what she had been telling Doyle since he had them, or exactly how much Declan knew about the situation, there wasn't much they could plan for- except that no matter what they would get both Emily and Gabby back alive.

Once they landed, no one was more eager than Hotch to start taking the next steps. Finally, nearly three days later, he was where he knew he needed to be, where Emily and Gabby were. Knowing they were in the same city made Hotch anxious, if he could, he would find a way to that warehouse himself and get them back, but he knew no one would allow that, and somehow he had a clear enough head to know that would be extremely dangerous.

So, he waited for everyone to get settled in the conference room of the Boston police department. Hotch didn't catch anyone's name in the room that introduced themselves to him except for one- Tyler Brown.

"You probably know me as Declan, though," he added, laughing lightly, trying to break the tension as she shook Hotch's hand. Hotch smiled a little. Even if Declan had never introduced himself, Hotch probably would have figured out he was Doyle's son. His dark blonde, almost brown hair was a curly mess atop his head, but his eyes were just as blue as Doyle's had been. That was the characteristic that would have given it away.

"Okay," Morgan started. "Declan, what do you know?"

"All I know is that ten years ago Emily called Louise-my Mom for all intents and purposes- Emily called her and told her that we needed to relocate, that she had been found. She figured he would be looking for us next, so just like that, we left. We didn't pack anything, we didn't tell anybody, we just left. I changed my name, she changed hers, and we went to Phoenix, Arizona. That's where I stayed up until very recently. I graduated high school and went immediately to college, for law enforcement. I had no idea what I really wanted to do with it. I just knew I wanted to do something. I graduated college early because I was so into all my studies- and a job so happened to open up in Boston about two months ago, so I took it," Declan explained.

"You don't think any of Doyle's men are behind this, are you?" Morgan asked Hotch. Hotch shook his head.

"I don't think so, no," Hotch said. "He never planned on taking Emily too, just Gabby. And he took her to Italy. I think Boston was a spur of the moment decision- when he couldn't think of anywhere else to go,"

Declan nodded, then continued. "Anyway, so, I moved here, but I'm still the new guy so I haven't gotten to do much of anything yet. The only reason I get to help you out now is because I told them who I really was,"

"That's it?" Dunham asked.

"That's it," Declan confirmed.

"Okay, so Emily probably has no clue you're here. You haven't spoken with her at all right?" Greene asked.

"No- not since she told us to relocate. I wasn't supposed to talk to her at all, actually. She was supposed to tell Mom quickly and hang up. But I knew I might never talk to her again if I didn't then, so I begged Mom to let me. That's the last time we've spoken though. In any form of communication. No phone calls, no subtle meet ups, no e-mails, text messages, nothing like that," Declan told them honestly.

"So our biggest concern here now is what Emily's been telling him. You know she's said whatever she has to to keep her and Gabby alive, to keep Doyle distracted with his thoughts. But we have no way of knowing what she's said. What we do know, though, is that he's got an accomplice. Maybe more, but one for sure. We don't know how ruthless this guy is, but we've seen first hand the lengths Doyle will go through for his revenge," Morgan informed the room full of people.

"He's already had them for three days, almost," Hotch added. "I don't- I don't know how much time we have left," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, as if he didn't want to admit it, or maybe if he said it softly it would somehow be less true.

"Should we go to the warehouse now, or wait until tonight?" Monroe asked, pulling her hair back into a ponytail out of her face.

"If we go tonight, it will attract less attention. It'll also give us more time for an accurate plan to get everyone out. Is there anyway we could get a blue-print of that warehouse? Then we'd know entrances, exits, how many rooms, stuff like that," Morgan asked.

"If not, Garcia would pull it up. You know she doesn't mind," Hotch said.

"I'll work on that, and we'll go from there," Morgan said, nodding his head, pulling his phone out, and stepping out of the room to make needed calls for what would need to be acquired. Hotch glanced at the clock, it was mid-afternoon. He needed time to go by faster, he needed the sun to set. He needed to get Emily and Gabby back. He sighed, and waited, something he had grown increasingly sick of doing over the past few days.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

Ian's reaction to Emily's false news was exactly what Emily expected. He yelled, and Emily moved herself away from Gabby before he had the chance to hurt her. He threw Emily against the wall, again. Emily was so used to it, she hardly felt the impact. Or maybe, she was so afraid she might have made the wrong decision the physical pain was nothing in comparison. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Gabby get up and run over to the corner of the room, away from them. Emily didn't flinch as she looked Ian directly in the eyes, seeing nothing but fury and pain in them.

"You killed him!" Ian screamed at her, grabbing her by the shoulders and tightening his grip.

"_No,_" Emily said firmly- she couldn't even lie about being the one to take Declan's life, even if she wanted to. "No, Ian. I didn't do it,"

"Then who did?" He asked, shaking her violently as he spoke.

"I don't know who did it, Ian," she said firmly. "But I'm still sorry,"

"You're _sorry_? Do you think that's going to make everything okay?" He asked her, his voice breaking as he spoke.

"It's not okay. You can believe whatever you want about our time together, but I won't let you believe that I didn't love Declan. Because I did," Emily said honestly. So much, that she'd willingly put her life on the line for his own, more than once.

"I don't believe _anything _that comes out of your mouth," Ian said bitterly. "You'll say whatever it takes to stay alive, won't you? Whatever it takes to keep your precious daughter alive?" he asked her.

"It's been _eighteen years, _Ian. If you were going to kill me, you would have by now,"

"I could kill you right now. Both of you. No one would know," he said, obviously trying to scare her.

"But you won't, will you Ian? You won't because you can't. I think you've forgotten I've spent most of my adult life studying people's behavior," she said, not letting him see her be anything but strong.

Emily could tell by the look on his face she was right. She knew Paul wasn't going to hurt them, and for the first time in a very long time, she actually felt _safe. _Ironically, considering her location and the fact the man that wanted her dead had her in his grasp.

He yelled again, pulling Emily away from the wall and pushing her with such force, she landed on her knees on the cold, hard concrete floor. He proceeded to kick her repeatedly, until she was flat on her stomach on the ground. Emily turned her head sideways, searching for Gabby who was still cowering in the corner. She quickly sent the terrified little girl their sign that Emily was okay.

Ian bent down and grabbed Emily by her hair, jerking her up painfully from the ground. "I'm going out to get some things, when I come back, _she _is coming with me," he said lowly in her ear, referring to Gabby. "Then, I'm going to kill you, and that will be the end of it," he continued. "Do you understand?"

Emily nodded her head. "I understand _perfectly_," she choked out. "That- that you'll say these things to scare me, to scare Gabby, but then you won't do it," she chuckled as she continued. "If I'm not scared, she's not scared. And let me tell you, Ian Doyle, I'm not afraid of you. Not anymore,"

"Well," he said, letting her go and shoving her back down to the ground, "you should be,"

He scoffed, his face showing only disgust as he sauntered out of the room, slamming the door closed behind him.

Emily pushed herself up from the floor, finally feeling the pain she hadn't felt earlier. She sat up, giving herself a moment before she tried to stand up and go over to Gabby. However, the little girl was already at her mother's side.

"Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Emily nodded. "I'm fine," she said as she took the girl in her arms.

"That was scary," Gabby whispered into Emily's shoulder.

"I know, I'm sorry," Emily said sincerely.

"Did Declan really die?" Gabby asked.

"No," Emily said. "He didn't. But I knew that would make him mad and distract him to keep us here,"

"Oh," Gabby said. "When is he coming back?"

"I don't know, hopefully not for awhile," Emily told her.

Gabby sighed. "Do you think Daddy will find us soon?"

"He'll be here before we know it," Emily said, just hoping she was right. Emily let go of Gabby and forced herself to stand up, leading the girl over to the wall. She sat down again, leaning her back against the cold brick, motioning for Gabby to sit with her. Gabby did so without hesitation. Emily noticed Gabby was trying not to cry.

"It's okay, it's all going to be over soon," Emily said softly, trying to calm Gabby down. "Before you know it we'll be home with Daddy and Jack, and it'll all be like its supposed to be- we'll be a family,"

Gabby responded by snuggling a little closer to Emily. "Will you sing to me? Like you used to when I was little?"

Emily smiled, partly at Gabby's request and partly because she still considered Gabby to be little, even if Gabby didn't think she still was.

"Of course," Emily confirmed, beginning to sing the song she had once sung to Gabby every night. Despite their fears and worries, the song seemed to put both of them slightly at ease. As Emily's song ended, she only hoped at she had been right, that at any second the door would burst open and Hotch- or somebody that would lead them to him- would be on the other side and that this would all end and that she could finally stop being afraid.


	26. Chapter 26

When the door to the room Emily and Gabby were still held up in opened, Emily felt her heart stop. When she saw that the person coming in the room wasn't Ian, but Paul, she relaxed a little bit, knowing he wouldn't do anything to hurt them.

"Hey," Paul said quietly.

"Hi," Emily returned the greeting. "Do you know where he went?" Emily asked, referring to Ian.

Paul shook his head. "He looked real pissed though. Er- mad," he corrected himself, noticing Gabby was awake and paying attention.

"I _know _what that word means," Gabby said seriously, Emily laughed a little at her.

"Anyway," Emily continued. "He didn't tell you when he'd be back?"

"No, he just told me to be ready. That we'd leave as soon as he got back," Emily frowned at the news, but Paul continued. "I got an idea, though. If you're okay with it. If you think it'd work," he said.

"I'm desperate. What do you got?" she asked, perking up a bit at the possibility of getting out.

"I know you don't want to be away from Gabby right now, but, we could hide her somewhere else in the warehouse. We could say she got out somehow. That we've looked the place over a million times, but she's not here. He'd leave me here to watch you, and go out to look for her," he said quickly.

"Or, he'd sense it was a distraction and look for her here. I'm not letting him get to her again," Emily said firmly.

"I won't let him get to her," Paul promised. "You and I will both know where she is,"

"I don't want her to be alone," Emily argued again. There had to be a better way than separating them again, didn't there?

"I wanna do it," Gabby spoke up. Both Emily and Paul dropped their eyes to the small girl.

"Gabby, no," Emily said softly. "There's got to be another-" but Gabby cut her off.

"I'll be fine. We have to stay here and this might be the only way we can do it! What if he takes us somewhere else and Daddy comes here but we're already gone?" Gabby asked. "Then he might never find us,"

Emily sighed. She knew Gabby was right about them needing to stay in the warehouse. She knew somehow, someone would figure out where they were.

"Where would she hide, though? Ian's probably got the entire layout of this place memorized. He'd know where to look should he want to. I really don't think this is the best idea- separating us like that. If he found her..." she trailed off, not wanting to finish the sentence.

"You could go together, then," Paul compromised. "That way, should he somehow get by me and find you, you'd be there to protect her,"

"That's a little better," Emily admitted. "But still, like I said, there aren't many hiding places here. There's a few rooms, and some closets,"

"There's a hidden door," Paul said.

"What?" Emily asked.

Paul pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, smoothing it out before handing it to Emily. "This is an updated blueprint of the place. I gave Ian the original, and I told him that it hadn't been renovated since the last time he was here. But, actually, it was used again for about six months by a power company. They built in this room," he pointed to a spot in the middle of the blueprint. "Kind of like a safe house, I guess. I'm not sure what the point of it was. To get to it, you have to know it's there. He doesn't. You'd both be safe," Paul told her.

"Wow," Emily breathed. "Was it your plan this whole time to get us out?" she asked.

"I told you, I never agreed with this plan to begin with. I only went along with it because I was afraid for my sister and her kids. But as much as he hates you, he could have already killed you and Gabby both, but he hasn't. I don't think he can do it," Paul said.

"At one point, Ian Doyle was ruthless. He killed innocent people and called it a job. But I saw the other side of him. The side that came home and was a father to his son. If there's one person in this world he loved, it was Declan. He even admitted to me once long ago he could never bring himself to kill a child. He wasn't always nice to Declan- sometimes he was quick to lose his temper, but I know he'd never kill him. He killed my old team members and their families years ago, but I know the child that was murdered, Ian didn't pull that trigger. I don't know why he hasn't killed me yet. I'm not going to question it, but I think something about him has changed," Emily said to Paul. It was true, though. It was hard to look at Ian now and think of him as someone who could blow people up, shoot them when they weren't expecting it, take lives from people without even a second thought.

Sure, he'd given Emily quite the bruising. But there was something different about him. Something she didn't remember seeing before. His eyes were just- sad. Emily knew it was because she was responsible for Declan being taken away from him. She was the person who caused Ian Doyle to fall apart at the seams. When she saw Ian now, when she looked in his eyes and saw the sadness, she remembered the man she once knew. Despite his job, despite all the things he did and saw on a daily basis, he was happy. He was happy because he had Declan- and he had Lauren. She wasn't proud of her past, especially the patch of her life that involved Ian Doyle. She wasn't going to let him win, not this time.

Paul nodded and said: "So what do you say, you up for some hide and seek?" he slightly joked.

"Minus the seek part. Unless it's someone telling me it's safe," Emily said.

"I don't know how long you guys will be down there, so don't worry if it's awhile. I'll come check on you every chance I can, when I know Ian won't follow me," Paul promised.

Emily rose from the floor, pulling Gabby up with her. She bent down slightly, so she was eye-level with the smaller brunette. She put her hands on Gabby's shoulder.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this?" she asked.

Gabby nodded her head. "Yes, Mama. I'm sure,"

"If you change your mind at any time, you let me know," Emily said.

"Okay, but we'll be fine," Gabby smiled.

"I'm supposed to be the one telling you that," Emily said, returning the smile.

"Beat you to it!" she said, grabbing Emily's hand and pulling it. "Come on, let's go!" she said.

Emily laughed, but followed as Paul led them to the middle of the warehouse. Emily looked around, knowing she should be able to detect some kind of secret door. She'd had to look for them before, after all. She was beginning to think this whole thing was some kind of set up when suddenly a door opened seemingly from nowhere.

"How-" Emily started.

"I know, you can't even tell it's here," Paul said. "I think this was used for security, or safety maybe. It was a power plant for a very short while. Maybe this was a safe place for people to go that couldn't get out in case of an emergency?"

"Maybe," Emily agreed. "How big is it?" She asked.

"It's nothing special. You just go down the stairs right there, it's a little smaller than the room you were in up here, but it's decent," Paul told her.

"Okay," Emily said, still a bit skeptical of the plan.

"Oh," Paul said. "One more thing," he reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, yellow radio.

"A walkie-talkie?"

"If I hear anything from Ian but can't get to you, this way I can still tell you,"

"Ah," Emily nodded. "Okay,"

"Or... if things go bad on your end you can let me know," he added.

"Right..." she said slowly.

"But it'll be fine, right Gabby?" Paul asked.

"Right!" Gabby agreed. "Can I talk into it?" Gabby asked, taking the radio from her mother.

Emily smiled. "Sure, once we get down there you can tell Paul we got there safe, sound good?"

"Okay!" Gabby agreed. "Come on," she pulled Emily by the hand again.

"How in the world do you have so much energy?" Emily muttered, following the girl down the small flight of stairs.

Once they got into the room, it reminded Emily much of an average basement. There was a light switch, but the electricity wasn't on in the warehouse, so that did them no good. There was a couch, some chairs, a small television, and a telephone in the room. Paul was probably right about this being a safe place, though Emily wasn't sure why a power company would need something like this. Maybe it was an undercover power company, Emily thought. She was too tired and too anxious to think too much into it now.

"Can I tell him now?" Gabby asked excitedly.

"Mhm," Emily confirmed. "Do you know how to work it?" Gabby shook her head, so Emily showed her what buttons to press.

Gabby pressed the buttons Emily showed her and spoke into the little radio. "Paul? We're here,"

"Ten-four," Paul's voice buzzed in. Gabby laughed, recognizing the terminology from movies.

"We need code names! Oh, and we're supposed to say 'over,' after everything, right? Over," Gabby said.

"What do you want your name to be? Over." Paul asked, playing along with Gabby.

"Mama what should it be?" Gabby asked. "You have to have one too!"

Emily had to laugh. "Hmm. What's your favorite color?" Emily asked.

"Purple," Gabby said.

"Animal?" Emily asked again.

"Hmm...alligator!" Gabby said.

"Okay," Emily said. "That's your name. Purple Alligator,"

Gabby laughed. "What's yours?"

"Mine would be Blue Cat," Emily replied.

"Mama and I made our code names be our favorite color and our favorite animal. I'm Purple Alligator, and she's Blue Cat, so, what's yours?" Gabby asked. "Over." she added quickly.

"Hmm, I guess that's make me Green Monkey. Over," Paul responded.

"Okay, good. We'll let you know if we need anything Green Monkey!" Gabby said into the radio.

"Okay, Purple Alligator," Paul said back.

"Over and out!" Gabby said.

"Copy that," Paul said.

"I like these things!" Gabby said, handing the radio back to Emily, who sat it down on the table in the middle of the room.

"Yeah? Maybe your Dad and I can get you some. Then you can play with them at home," Emily told the girl.

"Do you think we'll be down here long?" Gabby asked.

"I hope not, but I don't know," Emily said honestly.

Gabby sighed. Emily knew she wanted to go home- Emily felt the same way. She wished there was some way she could do just that, get the both of them home safe and sound where they belong.

Emily led Gabby over to the couch, knowing there wasn't much else for them to do except sleep, something they both needed to catch up on, since the majority of their sleeping had been on the hard floor. The piece of furniture was just large enough for both of them to lay side by side, Emily protectively wrapping an arm around Gabby.

"Wake me up if you hear anything," Emily said.

"Okay," Gabby replied, though her eyes were already beginning to close, as both of them drifted off into a restless sleep.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

The sun was setting, and Hotch, Morgan, Declan, and the team were gearing up to go to the warehouse. Morgan had studied the layout of the place all afternoon. There were three entrances, one in the front, one in the back, and one near the side. They would split up into teams, one team at each entrance. They would then proceed to clear the rooms as necessary, and search for Emily and Gabby in the process. If they encountered Doyle, which they knew they would at some point, then they were to take him down. No questions asked.

They took two SUVs, pulling up to the warehouse several feet back. They wanted to surprise Doyle and catch him off guard. They broke off into teams: Hotch, Declan, and Morgan were to go in together, and the remaining five of the team broke off into their usual partnerships or groups.

"We'll take the front entrance," Morgan said. "Dunham, you, Burke, and Harlan take the back, and Greene, you and Monroe take the side. Remember, our main priority is getting Emily and Gabby out and to safety. If you see Ian Doyle, take him down," Morgan instructed.

Everyone agreed, and just as they were all about to suit up and go in, Declan spoke up.

"What if I went in alone?" he asked.

"What?" Morgan asked. "No. You're not ready for that, kid,"

"I'm the whole reason Emily's in this mess in the first place. Because she put me before herself. I know I was just a little kid at the time, but now I'm older. This can be my way of thanking her," Declan continued.

"What do you mean?" Morgan asked.

"Well obviously, he thinks I'm dead. That's why he's so pissed at Emily. If I go in and show him I'm alive, maybe it'll distract him enough to let you guys in to get Emily and Gabby," Declan said.

"I don't know," Morgan told him. "There's no reasoning with him. You know that, don't you?"

"I know," Declan said. "I'm not looking for some kind of weird happy family reunion with him. I just want to help Emily," Declan said. "I'll wear a vest. I'll have my gun. I'll tell you if I need back up. You guys can stand right outside the door for all I care. Just- just let me do this. For Emily." Declan requested.

All eyes were on him when Hotch spoke up. "Let him do it,"

"Hotch-" Morgan started.

"No, listen. He's got a point. Doyle won't hurt him. We'll all be standing outside ready if it goes bad. He might be new to this job, Morgan, but I think he knows what he's doing,"

Morgan sighed. "Okay," he agreed. "But," he added. "We'll be outside all the doors. You better let us know if _anything _goes wrong. Hotch, you and Burke go in the back way after Declan's been in there a few minutes and start looking for Emily and Gabby," he instructed. "The rest of us will split up and wait to go in. If they bring Emily and Gabby out before anyone gets to Doyle, whoever isn't with Emily and Gabby will go in and we'll take him down from there. Understood?" Everyone nodded, and began to get ready for their respective jobs.

Hotch caught Declan alone, and tapped on his shoulder lightly, causing him to turn around to face him.

"Thank you," Hotch said. "For doing this. It has to be hard,"

"I'll be okay," Declan said. "Like I told you guys before, Emily's out her own well being before mine plenty of times. Now it's my turn to do the same,"

"Well, thank you," Hotch said. "That means a lot to me, and I know it will to her, too,"

"We'll get them back," Declan said. "I promise you that,"

Hotch smiled as best he could in return, sending up a silent prayer that Declan was right, that in just a few minutes everything would be right with the world again.


	27. Chapter 27

Emily awoke to the sound of the radio Paul had given her. She quickly got up from the couch, picking the device up from the small table in the corner of the room.

"Did you say something?" she whispered into the mic, not wanting to wake a still sleeping Gabby.

"Ian's back," Paul said quietly. "Wait for me to tell you the coast is clear. You and Gabby stay down there and stay quiet," he instructed.

Despite the safety of the small, hidden room, she felt her body tense with fear. She sat the radio back down on the table, turning the volume down low. Emily wandered over to the couch where Gabby was still sleeping. She sat down on the edge next to the girl, slowly combing her fingers through Gabby's thick dark hair.

"Mama?" Emily heard a small voice say.

"I thought you were asleep," Emily whispered.

"No, I'm awake," Gabby said sleepily. "Ian is back," she said.

"He is," Emily replied. "Do you still want to do this? I'll get you out if you don't,"

"I'm okay," Gabby said, but Emily could tell the girl was putting on a good front.

"Are you sure?" Emily coaxed gently. Gabby responded by burying her face in the couch. Emily frowned slightly but picked the girl up and sat her in her lap. "You can tell me, ma chere,"

"I just want to go home," Gabby said softly, her voice breaking.

"I know, I do too," Emily said, slowly rocking Gabby back and forth as if she were a baby again. "What else?" Emily asked, knowing Gabby's fears were deeper than just wanting to go home.

"I'm scared," Gabby admitted. "About a lot,"

"Thats okay, honey. It'll be fine. We'll be home soon," she said reassuringly.

"But what if..." Gabby started, but stopped before she continued.

"Don't do that to yourself," Emily said calmly, but firmly. "You can't worry yourself thinking like that,"

"But it's hard," Gabby whispered.

"I know," Emily said honestly, speaking from experience.

"I hope Daddy hurries," Gabby said.

"Me too, sweet girl, me too," Emily said, continuing to rock the girl back and forth slowly. The two sat like that for a few minutes, until they heard a distant _bang! _It sounded like it was coming from upstairs. Gabby clung to Emily, and Emily felt her insides go cold.

"What was that?" Gabby whispered, her soft voice barely audible.

"I don't know," Emily said. "We're safe here, remember that,"

They heard the same sound several more times, before a voice rang out from the radio on the table. A voice neither of them expected to hear.

"You think you're so smart, don't you?" Ian's voice said. "You think you can hide from me forever, but you can't! I _will _find you- and this time I'll make sure you're sorry," he said angrily before the room grew silent again.

Emily dared not move from her spot on the couch with Gabby. She knew the chances of Ian hearing their movements through the thick walls was miniscule, but she wouldn't take her chances. Gabby didn't say anything, but she continued to cling to her mother as if her life depended on it. Emily focused on calming Gabby down as she became lost in her thoughts. She knew as soon as she and Gabby heard the first noise what it was- the unmistakable sound of a gun going off. Considering Ian had found the radio, Emily could only assume Ian had found out Paul was helping Gabby and herself. She figured Paul was dead, and it was all Emily could do to keep herself together. She didn't want anyone else to die for her- too many people had already died in her place. Her old team didn't deserve what happened to them, and even years later sometimes Emily still blamed herself. Now Paul had simply tried to help Emily and Gabby get back home, and he too, had lost his life.

She thought back to the conversation she had shared with Paul just a few hours earlier, about how something must have changed in Ian's persona. Neither one of them thought he would kill either one of them. After all, he had ample opportunities to take Paul out the second Paul had let Gabby go at the Aquarium. He could have easily killed Emily by now. He could have killed all three of them and been on his way days ago. But he hadn't. Emily wondered if his outburst was also her fault. Maybe her lying to Ian about Declan- again- was the worst decision she'd ever made. She felt herself biting her lip so hard she tasted blood, trying to keep herself from crying.

But Emily refused to break down, not in front of Gabby. The little girl was scared enough as it was, and her knowing what Emily knew would only make it worse. So instead, she calmed Gabby down and focused on keeping herself calm, too.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Ian felt his blood boiling, his hands shaking as he threw the radio down on the ground. He hadn't wanted to kill Paul. But his anger got the best of him. He was angry because Emily was too determined and stubborn for her own good. He was angry because he thought Declan was dead. He was upset because he couldn't bring himself to kill her- or the girl. And as soon as Ian discovered Emily and her daughter were missing, he knew what Paul had done.

He made Paul admit to trying to help them. But he wouldn't say where they were, and he just kept going on and on about how Ian wouldn't do anything, that he was a coward. So Ian proved he was just the opposite.

He was just about to begin his search of the warehouse, prepared to tear the place apart in order to find Emily and Gabby, when he heard a voice behind him.

"Drop the gun," the voice said. Ian spun around, pointing his Glock directly at the mystery man standing in front of him. How had he gotten in? Who was he?

He wore a Kevlar vest, the word "Police" printed on the front. His hair was a curly, dark blonde mess on top of his head. It made him look like a kid. His eyes were blue- a familiar shade of blue. That's when it hit Ian. Declan was standing right in front of him.

"D-Declan?" Ian said in disbelief, still keeping his weapon pointed.

"Yes, it's me," Declan responded, his gun also drawn. "Drop your gun. I don't want to have to use mine,"

Ian took a long moment, simply staring at the young man. He would be in his early twenties by now. Still practically a boy. He wished suddenly he had been there to see Declan become the man he was today. However, Declan didn't seem phased to be standing in front of his father.

"You wouldn't shoot your own father, would you?" Ian challenged, expecting Declan's expression to soften, for him to lower his gun.

Instead, Declan's glare only grew more intense. He tightened his grip on the gun.

"I don't particularly like using this one anybody, but I will use it, even on you, if you don't drop your gun right now," Declan said firmly.

Ian smirked, setting the gun down in the ground, kicking it towards Declan. Declan scooped it up quickly and holstered it before Ian could make any attempts to get it back.

"Now," Declan said. "Where's Emily and Gabby?" he asked.

"I don't know. The only person who _does _know, is right over there," Ian said, pointing in the general direction where Paul's body was. "And he's dead. So good luck," Ian said.

"I'll find them," Declan said. "I have to. Because Emily saved my life, so now it's my turn to save hers,"

Ian laughed mockingly. "She did no such thing,"

"She did, she got me away from _you_," Declan said bitterly. "She put me before her. And I wasn't even her kid,"

"She _took you _from me, Declan. Why do you want to idolize her for that?" Ian said suddenly angered by the fact that Declan seemed to remember Emily, but not him, his own father.

"I didn't at first," Declan admitted, his tone softer, but his gun still drawn and ready. "I was four when all this happened. I didn't understand that you were a bad guy, because to me you were just my dad. So for awhile, I was angry that I didn't get to see you anymore. But as I got older, Emily explained everything to me. Now I know. I know what she did for me, and now it's my turn to help her,"

"Whatever she told you is a lie, Declan. I've always loved you," Ian said.

"I know that, too," Declan said. Ian raised an eyebrow in surprise.

"You do?"

"Of course. Emily always told me that. But what you did, what you're doing right now, that's not okay. Now you have to come with me, and the rest of the team and the FBI are coming to look for Emily and Gabby," Declan explained.

Ian knew there was no way out of this. He was going to be locked up, again. Emily was going to win, again. It was more than he could take. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life in prison. He lunged at Declan, not intending to hurt him, his target being the gun in Declan's hands. He grabbed Declan's wrist, twisting the gun free from Declan's strong embrace. He pointed it at Declan, with no intention of actually pulling the trigger, when Declan pressed a button on a device on his hip. Almost instantaneously, people came running in from all different directions.

"Put the weapon down, and put your hands where I can see them," an authoritative male voice said. Ian didn't know who said it, he spun around and blindly fired the gun, not meaning to hit anyone with the bullets. As soon as his finger squeezed the trigger, he heard more guns go off. He didn't know how many times he'd been hit as he hit the ground with a loud _thud- _but it didn't matter anyway. In some way, he felt like he'd won. He had nothing left to live for, so why waste the time? As his vision became cloudy, the noises in the room growing fainter, he felt a presence beside him.

"I'm sorry," he heard the voice say- he knew somehow it was Declan.

"It's alright, son," Ian managed to rasp.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

_It's over. _Hotch thought, blinking several times as he processed the thought. They came in when Declan sent them the signal, prepared for it to get ugly. Prepared to fight. But they hadn't had to. It was basically a suicide by cop. Doyle was dead. Emily would never have to worry about him again. They were safe.

"We have to find them," Hotch said- not realizing his voice was breaking as he spoke.

"I'll stay here with the bodies and make the necessary calls, everybody else, tear this place apart," Morgan instructed.

Everyone parted ways, calling for Emily and Gabby. Hotch felt disoriented as he walked along the hallways calling for his daughter and Emily's names. They were going to be together. Everything was going to be okay. It was everything he had hoped for, and now here it was. Doyle gone, no longer a threat to anyone. Emily back home, where she belonged. Gabby with both of her parents and her older brother.

Hotch appeared lost in his thoughts and nearly missed the voice coming through his earpiece.

"What?" he said back.

"We've got them," someone said. He didn't know anyone well enough to place the voice except for Morgan, and he knew it wasn't him.

"Where are you?" he asked.

"West entrance. Second hallway," the voice said again.

"I'll be right there," Hotch said, nearly sprinting to get to the desired location.

He got there in record time, finding a door open in the wall. A hidden room. Of course, he thought happily.

He bounded down the steps two at a time, not hearing a word anyone said to him as he passed them by.

"Daddy!" he heard a small voice say, one he hadn't heard in so long. He turned to see Emily and Gabby sitting on a little couch. He went over to them, Gabby meeting him halfway and jumping into his awaiting arms, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"I knew you'd come find us!" she said.

"Of course," Hotch told her. "I always will,"

Hotch sat her down, looking her over, checking for injuries. "You okay?" he asked.

Gabby nodded. "I am now," she said.

Hotch smiled, taking Gabby by the hand and going over to Emily. He hadn't noticed the purple and blue bruises that seemed to be everywhere.

He sat down next to her, as Gabby placed herself in his lap. He was afraid to touch Emily, though all he wanted was to take her in his arms and never let her go again, but he was afraid he would harm her already damaged body even more.

"Oh, Emily," he breathed. "You're-"

"I'm fine, Aaron. I mean, it hurts, but I'm fine. I'm here. It's okay," she said reassuringly.

He smiled again, tucking her hair back behind her ears. "I think I'm supposed to be the one telling you that,"

Emily laughed lightly, the action causing a slight pain in her ribs. "Beat you to it," she winked.

"Doyle's gone," Hotch told her.

"I know. And Paul, the guy who was supposedly helping him. But he wasn't. Without him, Aaron... I don't... I don't know how this would have turned out," she admitted.

"I'm sorry," Hotch said.

Emily shook her head, using her compartmentalizing skills she was so accustomed to. "Declan's here," she told him, though she knew he already knew that.

"I know. He wanted to help you,"

"He told me, I talked to him. He found us. He came across the radio in the hallway and took a chance by speaking into it. Without that, we might never have been found,"

"But you were. You're both here," Hotch said.

"Emily?" Jake Harlan said as he approached the reunited family.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"Morgan just told me to tell you there's an ambulance waiting outside. You and Gabby have to go get checked out,"

"Are you _kidding _me?" Emily groaned.

"No... I'm not- there's really one out there," Harlan said sheepishly.

"Em, come on, you'll both be released in a couple of hours," Hotch encouraged.

"Ugh this _sucks,_" Emily complained, wincing as she stood from her spot on the couch.

"See," Hotch said, picking Gabby up with him as he stood. "I want to be sure nothing's broken,"

"Nothing's broken," Emily said. "Just bruised... maybe a cracked rib or something... nothing I haven't seen before," Emily griped as Hotch helped her up the stairs.

"Gabby's being better about this than you are," Hotch muttered as they made their way outside, where there was, in fact, an ambulance waiting.

"I _hate _hospitals!" Emily whined.

"Well I don't think you're supposed to like them," Hotch said. "But I promise we'll all be home in just a few hours, okay?" he said as he kissed her forehead lightly as Emily sat inside the ambulance. Hotch placed Gabby right beside her.

"Daddy stay here," Gabby requested.

"I'm not going anywhere," Hotch promised as the medical personnel began asking them both countless questions. He smiled, knowing that everything was going to be okay. It would take time for them both to fully recover from what happened, Emily especially, but he knew she'd be okay this time. She wouldn't have to be alone.


	28. Chapter 28

**Well, the drama is over- but don't worry, I still have a few things planned before this story is officially over. All of them completely mushy and drama free. After this chapter, there's only one more plus an epilogue. So keep looking out for those! Thanks guys! : )**

Just as Emily had suspected, she didn't have any broken bones. She had more than her fair share of cuts and bruises, and a few cracked ribs. She was given medication to take for the pain that she would soon start feeling, and then the doctor released her. Gabby, of course, was cleared of any physical harm and was released before Emily.

"Thank God," Emily said as she, Hotch, and Gabby walked out to the lobby, where Emily would be signed out and the three of them would finally be able to go home. It was late, and all of them were anxious to leave. JJ came to pick them up and was waiting for them when they walked out.

"Hey," she greeted with a smile.

"JJ!" Emily said happily, hugging the blonde tightly, since the last time she'd seen her, she wasn't in the best state. "I'm so glad you're alright! I was so worried,"

"I'm fine, I just had a concussion. No big deal," JJ said as the embrace broke.

"I'm sorry," Emily said.

"Don't," JJ said, holding up a hand. "You did what you had to do, right? Now look at you, you're here, Gabby's here, and you don't have to worry about anything anymore,"

"Thank you," Emily smiled, as JJ put an arm around her. They walked outside to JJ's car, Hotch and Gabby trailing a few steps behind them.

"We're going home now, right?" Gabby asked hopefully as she crawled into the backseat of the car.

"After we leave here, we're going to go pick Jack up from his aunt's house, but then we'll go home," Hotch promised, sliding in next to her.

"Okay," Gabby said tiredly.

"She'll be asleep before we get to Jessica's," Emily commented as she took the passenger's seat next to JJ.

"No I won't," Gabby argued, her eyes already beginning to close.

Emily had been right, Gabby was sound asleep before they picked Jack up and Jessica's.

"Hi," Emily said quietly once Jack was in the car next to Hotch.

"Emily," he greeted happily. "I'm so glad you're both okay,"

"Me, too,"

The rest of the ride was silent, but not uncomfortable. They said their goodbyes to JJ and went inside the house, Hotch carrying Gabby on his hip.

Though they tried to quietly enter the house, Gabby stirred and opened her eyes.

"We're home!" she said happily.

"We are!" Hotch said as he put Gabby down.

"Jack!" Gabby said once she noticed he was there, too. She ran over to him and threw her arms around his waist.

"Hey, you," Jack replied, hugging the little girl back.

"I missed you!" Gabby said as she pulled away.

"I missed you too, kiddo. I'm glad you're back!" Jack said.

"Me, too. I missed my bed..." she said, causing the three of them to laugh.

"Speaking of," Hotch said. "Go up to your room, there's a surprise waiting for you,"

"Really?" Gabby asked excitedly, running up the stairs to see what Hotch was talking about.

Emily glanced over at Hotch. "What did you do?" she asked.

"Come look," he said as he grabbed Emily's hand and led her carefully up the stairs, Jack behind them.

"Oh, Aaron," Emily said once they were inside the room. Hotch had painted the walls a bright, lighter shade of purple. Exactly what they had been planning to do before everything happened.

"I didn't have time to redo anything else. But I had to wait around... a lot... for people to listen to me. So to keep myself from going completely insane, I went ahead and painted. I was going to let you pick out the color, Gabby, but I remembered you said you liked purple," Hotch explained.

"I love it!" Gabby said excitedly. "Thank you!" She threw her arms around her father tightly.

"You're welcome, sweetheart," Hotch smiled, returning the hug. "When you and your mama are feeling up to it, we'll redo the rest of it,"

"Okay!" Gabby agreed, flopping down on her bed.

"You're tired, huh?" Emily asked, pulling the blankets back and allowing Gabby to get situated under them.

Gabby nodded, laying back into the pillows. "Will you and Daddy stay in here?" she asked quietly.

"Of course, baby," Emily said, sitting on one side of the bed while Hotch went around to sit on the other.

"I'm going to go to bed too," Jack said, bidding goodnight to everyone and heading to his own room.

Emily and Hotch sat with Gabby until she fell asleep, which took no time at all. As soon as she closed her eyes, she was sound asleep.

"I'm so glad she's able to go to sleep so easily," Emily said softly as she'd been worried Gabby might be afraid, or might have nightmares.

"It's a good sign," Hotch agreed.

"She missed you so much," Emily smiled. "She probably won't let you out of her sight for days,"

"You and Gabby will both be in my line of vision for awhile. I know you're safe now, but-"

"I know," Emily said. "It's okay. It's weird, though. I don't remember what it's like to not constantly be worried about Doyle. I've spent so long being afraid he would hurt the people I cared about. But now- I don't have to worry," Emily admitted.

"None of us have to, we can be together," Hotch said.

"That's the best part," Emily smiled, turning her attention to a sleeping Gabby.

"I talked to Declan," she said randomly after a few moments of silence between them.

"At the hospital?"

Emily nodded. "He came to see me while you had Gabby in the waiting room. I never- I never thought I would see him again. I never planned on seeing him again,"

"I'm glad you got to," Hotch said sincerely. He knew how much Declan meant to her.

"It's weird. I still picture him as the little, curly-haired blonde boy that liked it when I read to him at night. Or that asked me to have picnics with him," Emily smiled at the thought.

"That's how I feel about Jack sometimes- and I've been with him every day," Hotch told her.

"I don't want her to grow up," Emily said, referring to the sleeping girl between them. "I already feel like she's grown up too fast. She'll be ten this year,"

"She's still little, Em. She's not a baby, of course. But she's nowhere near a grown up," Hotch reassured her.

"I know," Emily agreed.

The two of them were quiet for awhile again, when Hotch spoke up.

"Now that Doyle isn't a problem anymore, what are you going to do?"

"I was hoping Gabby and I would stay here..." Emily said, confused as to what Hotch meant.

"No I meant- are you going to change your name back to Emily Prentiss again?" he asked.

"I think so. I miss being Emily," Emily said. "Well, legally, anyway,"

"Well, I was thinking..." Hotch started, Emily raised an eyebrow in question. "You could always change it to Emily Hotchner..." he said quietly.

"Are you trying to propose to me, Hotchner?" Emily joked.

"Well- maybe. I know this isn't traditional, and I swear I'll get you a ring. But I love you, Emily. I've always loved you,"

"Aaron," she breathed, feeling tears welling in her eyes. "I don't need a ring. I just need you," she told him, leaning over Gabby carefully to plant a kiss right on his lips.

"Let's do it tomorrow," she said once they broke apart. "We can have a reception later. Or whatever. I don't care, I just want to be together. I want us to be a family,"

"Whatever you want, Em. You'll have it,"

"I love you," she told him, he returned the expression with another kiss.

"Can I change my name too?" they heard the familiar, small voice ask.

"How long have you been awake?" Emily asked.

"I don't know," Gabby said. "But I do know you guys are getting married!" she said happily.

"We are, _ma chere,_" Emily confirmed.

"Can I change my last name, too?" Gabby asked again.

"Gabrielle Elizabeth Hotchner..." Emily said. "I like it," Emily said. "Of course you can change your name too, sweetheart,"

"Yay!" Gabby said excitedly.

"Okay," Emily said, "Daddy and I will be quiet now so you can sleep, you need it," Emily told the girl.

"'Kay," Gabby agreed. "I love you guys," she mumbled tiredly.

"We love you too, honey," Hotch told her as she fell back asleep.

"We should probably get some sleep too," Emily whispered.

"You're right. We'll talk more tomorrow," Hotch replied.

"Okay, goodnight," Emily said as she laid down, Hotch doing the same thing.

''Night," he responded. The three of them barely fit in the bed together, but none of them minded.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next morning, Emily woke up alone in the bed in Gabby's room. She heard laughter and smelled breakfast cooking downstairs. She rose from the bed, walking into the bathroom across the hall to wash her face and put her messy hair up in a ponytail. She walked downstairs to find every member of the Hotchner clan already there. Gabby was sitting at the kitchen counter next to Jack, the two of them laughing about something Emily had missed out on seeing.

Hotch was standing over the stove, a bowl of pancake batter next to him. He was laughing, too. Probably at whatever had Jack and Gabby cracking up too.

She went into the kitchen, making herself known.

"Mama!" Gabby said happily, jumping down from her chair and rushing into Emily's arms.

"Morning, sweetie," Emily greeted happily. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah!" Gabby confirmed. "It's about time you got up," Gabby joked.

"I really didn't think I would sleep this late," Emily said. She had expected to be up tossing and turning all night, possibly having unstoppable nightmares. But that hadn't happened. She slept like she hadn't slept in months- years, even. It was nice.

"Daddy's making breakfast. Chocolate chip pancakes!" Gabby informed her mother.

"Ooh, my favorite!" Emily said as Gabby lead her over to the counter where they both took a seat.

"Now that Mama's awake, can I tell Jack what you and Mama agreed on last night?" Gabby asked Hotch, who gave her a nod of approval as he flipped a pancake over.

"Mama and Daddy are getting married! And my last name is going to be Hotchner!" Gabby said excitedly, speaking quickly as if she'd been dying to say it out loud.

"Wow, really?" Jack asked. For a split second, Emily was afraid he didn't agree, that he would be upset like he had been when Emily and Gabby first arrived back in the States. But then, he smiled, and Emily felt a wave of relief wash over her. "That's great! Congratulations, guys," he said as he rose from the chair and hugged Emily tightly.

"Thank you," Emily said. "You're okay with this?" Emily asked him.

"Of course I am, Mom," Jack smiled. Emily returned the smile, unable to say anything back. She had everything she ever wanted, and now she didn't have to worry about it all being ripped away from her by Ian Doyle. She was getting married, to Aaron Hotchner. Something she had desired for so long, but never thought she would see happen. She had Gabby, the little girl she couldn't possibly imagine her life without. Jack was okay with her now, he accepted her back into his life, something she was worried might never happen. In that moment, the only thing that mattered to her was her family.


	29. Chapter 29

**And here it is, the last chapter of the story. There will be an epilogue to follow shortly, one that involves the whole BAU family. I can't believe this story is already finished! It's not perfect, but I'm kind of proud of it since it's the first multi-chapter story I've written. And I especially want to thank you guys, especially those of you who never fail to comment on a single chapter- you know who you are and I just want you all to know how much I appreciate every single one of you for sticking with me through this! I hope to include some tie-in one shots, since I've kind of fallen in love with this fictional family. If any of you guys have any prompts feel free to send them to me! **

**One more thing, I just googled marriage laws in DC regarding getting a marriage license and having a "courthouse wedding," So I hope this is accurate! Okay, enough of my ramblings. Enjoy! **

**-kbrewster.**

"So," Gabby said as Emily and Hotch tackled cleaning up the kitchen while the dishwasher hummed lowly.

"Hm?" Emily asked, busy wiping down the counter by the sink.

"Are you and Daddy getting married today?" Gabby asked.

Emily glanced over at Hotch, who then took over the conversation.

"I don't know, we still need to talk about that, I guess," He told her honestly. They definitely knew they wanted to get married, but there was the matter of telling everyone else. And whether or not they wanted a bigger wedding with all their friends, or just a simple courthouse ceremony, with no one there but Emily, Hotch, Jack, and Gabby.

"Well," Gabby said. "Talk about it!"

Hotch laughed at her as he lifted Gabby up and sat her on the counter so the two of them were eye-level with one another.

"We'll talk about it in a few minutes, okay? I promise. Then we'll let you know what we decided before we tell anybody else," Hotch told her.

"Even before you tell Jack?" Gabby asked.

"We'll let you tell him, that sound good?"

"Yeah!" Gabby agreed happily. "I still think you should get married today," she added with a smile.

"You're a persistent little thing, aren't you?" he joked.

"She gets it from you," Emily chimed in as the dishwasher finished it's cycle. She pulled the door open and began putting dishes away.

"Like you're not persistent," Hotch quipped.

"Okay, she's got it from both of us, that means she's going to win every argument. Always," Emily laughed.

"You're probably right," Hotch smiled as he put Gabby back on the ground. "Why don't you go to your room for a little while so we can talk about the wedding?" Hotch said to the girl.

"Can I go in the living room with Jack instead?" she asked quietly. "I don't really want to be by myself..." she added.

"You can go with Jack," Hotch told her, as Gabby ran out of the room in search of her older brother.

"Do you think she'll be okay?" Emily asked, biting her bottom lip.

"I do," Hotch reassured her. "She's actually done really well so far,"

"You're right," Emily said. "I didn't think either one of us would get any sleep last night. But we did,"

"You both might have a bad day here and there. But I think you're both going to be just fine," Hotch said, enveloping Emily in a tight hug. They pulled away, just enough so that their foreheads were touching, arms still wrapped around each other. They didn't talk for a few minutes, just simply enjoyed being with each other.

"So, about this wedding," Emily said, breaking the silence.

"How do you want to do it?" Hotch asked her. "It's up to you. I want it to be whatever you want,"

"You know," Emily started, letting go of Hotch and sitting down in a chair at the kitchen counter, as Hotch followed her actions. "I used to dream about our wedding. It was always a huge blowout- kind of like a party. I always pictured it outside, with all our friends and family. Gabby as the flower girl, either Jack or Henry as the ring bearer, depending on their ages when we got married. I pictured everyone together, laughing, dancing, having a great time... but," she stopped, chewing on her lip again.

"But?" Hotch asked, taking her hand in his, running his thumb across the back of her hand.

"But now, I don't really want that. I just want it to be us. I want it to be simple. Of course, I'd like to at least tell Garcia about it, maybe. And obviously JJ. But as for a massive ceremony that would take months to plan, I don't want to do that. I just want to marry you. I want to be a family," Emily told him. "If that's what you want," she added quickly.

"That's what I've wanted for ten years," Hotch confirmed, a smile stretching across his face. "We'll have to get a marriage license, but that shouldn't be too difficult. Then we have to wait three days," he informed her. "I looked up marriage laws last night," Hotch admitted when he saw the look Emily was giving him. She simply nodded and smiled at him. Then he stood from his seat, pulling Emily up lightly by the hand.

Emily's smile never faded as she placed a hand on his chest. "Three days simply might kill me," she joked before their lips met in a kiss.

"Why don't you and I go fill out all the paperwork today? Jack can stay with Gabby. We can also go shop for rings, if you'd like," Hotch suggested once they broke apart. "We can also see about getting Gabby's name changed as soon as possible,"

"I love the idea," Emily said happily as they walked into the living room, hand-in-hand.

"Are you getting married?" Gabby asked excitedly.

"We are," Emily told her.

"But there's some paperwork we have to fill out, then we have to wait three days. So the actual ceremony will be Saturday," Hotch added.

"Yay!" Gabby cheered as she jumped from her spot on the couch next to Jack and threw her arms around her parents.

Hotch and Emily relayed the information regarding their plan for the day to Jack, who agreed to stay home with Gabby while the two adults began the necessary arrangements for the wedding.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Hours later, Hotch and Emily found themselves in a jewelry store, looking for the most perfect wedding rings they could find.

Honestly, Emily couldn't care less what rings they decided on. Sure, rings were important. They signified they were together, they were married. She didn't want to disregard them completely, but to her, simply being together was enough for her. As a couple, they had been put through more than any couple Emily could think of right off. They hadn't seen each other or spoken in ten years, and yet when she and Gabby returned to the States it felt like no time had passed at all. She couldn't explain it. All her life, Emily had felt out of place, like no matter how hard she tried, she'd never feel like she belonged anywhere.

Then she met Hotch. They might have started out on somewhat rocky ground,but as time progressed, so did their friendship. It seemed he always knew when she needed someone, just like she somehow always seemed to know when he needed her. Somewhere between late night phone calls, to dinner dates, to simple days at Hotch's old apartment with Jack, they fell in love. Love Emily never thought she'd find. She had a family, a family who she'd do anything for, that she loved with everything she had.

"Em?" Hotch asked for the third time.

"What?" she asked, shaking her head slightly, pulling herself from her thoughts.

"I said, what do you think about these?" he asked, pointing to two very bright, shiny wedding bands.

"Ooh," she said. "Those are really nice,"

"Just nice? I want you to love them. We can keep looking," he suggested.

"Wait," Emily said, pulling Hotch back by the arm. "I _do _love them, they're gorgeous. But I was just- I don't know, thinking about us. I don't want to say the rings don't matter, because they do. But _you _matter more. You and our two wonderful children," she told him honestly. "Whatever rings we get will be perfect," she added with a warm smile.

"You're right," Hotch agreed. "Absolutely right. Well, while you were off in LaLa Land, I may or may not have done something that may or may not embarrass you right now," he added, a sly smile forming across his face.

"What?" Emily asked, utterly confused at what the man was talking about. The next thing she knew, Hotch was down on one knee in front of her, pulling a little black box out of his pocket. He opened the box to reveal the most beautiful diamond ring Emily had ever seen. It sparkled beautifully in the light. It was modest, though. It wasn't flashy and extremely girly, two things Emily was neither of. Despite her hatred of showing emotion in public, she felt herself already beginning to tear up.

"Aaron," she choked out. "You didn't have to-" but she was cut off. It was probably for the best, she was sure if she started talking now, nothing would make sense.

"Emily Prentiss," Hotch started. "I know you don't need an audience for this, I know we've already decided when we'll get married. But I want to do this for you. Nothing about our relationship has been traditional. Not in a long, long time. But we're back together now, for real this time. There's nothing either of us need to worry about except Jack and Gabby. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me, Emily. Maybe that's a very cliché way of putting it, but it's the truth. I can't imagine living one more second of my life without you in it. I love you, Emily. Will you marry me?" he asked, his voice beginning to crack as well.

By now, the tears were falling freely down Emily's cheeks. She wiped at her eyes before saying. "Of _course _I will marry you, Aaron. I love you," she managed to say, as Hotch put the magnificent ring on Emily's finger, her hands shaking wildly as he did so. He stood, having no time to say anything else before Emily pulled him in for a kiss- quite possibly the best one between them thus far.

When they broke apart, only then did they realize almost the entire jewelry store was clapping and cheering for them. Emily laughed, taking Hotch's hand in one of hers, using the other to wipe at her eyes again. They waved to everyone, and Hotch bowed dramatically, eliciting a light, happy laugh from his now fiancé. They exited the store, still laughing as they walked down the street a ways to their car.

"You really didn't have to do that, you know," Emily said once they were in the car, headed back home.

"I know," Hotch smiled, taking one hand off the wheel, placing it over Emily's.

"Thank you," Emily said sincerely. "I just hope I can do something that sweet for you in return someday,"

"Don't worry about it," Hotch told her. "You've already given me everything I could ask for,"

"We're getting _really _sappy," Emily said jokingly, her sarcastic attitude never failing to shine through.

"Okay, okay, I'll stop," he said, as they drove home in a very comfortable silence.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"What does one wear to a courthouse wedding?" Emily asked three days later as she opened the closet. Of course, she had gone shopping the day she and Hotch applied for a marriage license for a dress for herself and Gabby, but being incredibly anxious and indecisive, she wasn't sure if what she picked was the best choice.

"What about that really pretty red dress you bought?" Hotch asked.

"It's red," Emily pointed out. "Wedding dresses are supposed to be white. I obviously wasn't thinking when I bought this," she said, pulling the dress out of the closet.

"Emily," Hotch said. "It's _your _wedding. Wear whatever you want, whatever color you want. You'll look beautiful no matter what. You could wear your pajamas, if you wanted to,"

"You're just being sweet," Emily said, laying the dress down on the bed, sticking a thumbnail in her mouth to bite as she pondered over her dress choice. She spun around, heading back into the closet, pulling out three more dresses she had. A couple Garcia had bought when she went on a shopping spree for Emily and Gabby on her first visit, and one Emily had bought as sort of a back up dress in case it was needed.

"Will you please help me pick one?" Emily asked, her nerves completely taking over.

Hotch looked the dresses over a moment. He really didn't care, he knew she would look stunning in any of the different dresses there. "I still really like that red one," he said, knowing how much she loved the dress.

Emily picked up the dress, inspecting it thoroughly once again. It was subtle, not too showy, but something dressy enough she would feel like she was actually at her own wedding.

"Why don't you try it on for me, and we'll see how you like it then?" he asked her.

"Okay," she agreed, disappearing into the bathroom so she could try the dress on and see herself in the mirror.

When she emerged, Hotch found himself mesmerized at her beauty. She had already done her hair and her makeup. Her long, dark hair cascaded down her back, beyond her shoulders in beautiful, thick curls, standing out on her pale complexion. Her makeup was simple as always, but stunning nonetheless. In that moment, he'd never seen her look more beautiful. The straps on the dress were thin, the hemline hung just below Emily's knees. The dress was tight, but not too tight. She looked absolutely perfect.

"Well?" Emily asked, growing anxious at Hotch's silence.

Hotch blinked a few times, bringing himself back from his thoughts.

"Em, you look... _gorgeous,_" he stressed the word, though even that wasn't enough to accurately describe how she looked to him. "You have to wear this dress,"

Hotch moved closer to the love of his life, taking her hand in his. He spun her around a few times, then dipped her backwards as if they were ballroom dancing. He kissed her passionately, pulling her back up with him.

"If you absolutely insist," Emily whispered.

"I'm resisting every urge to rip that dress off you and take you on the bed right now," Hotch informed her.

Emily giggled a little. "Save that for the honeymoon, killer," she winked. "Enough about me, what are you going to wear?"

"Why don't you pick it out?" Hotch asked, motioning towards the closet. Emily nodded, and inspected all his clothing carefully. She settled on a pair of dark jeans and a black polo.

"Jeans?" Hotch questioned.

"I like the way they make your ass look," Emily half-whined. "And the shirt makes you look sexy. It'll be fun to take them off later," she told him seductively.

"Fair enough," he said, changing quickly, finishing up his normal getting ready routine.

A few seconds later, they heard a small knock at the door.

"Come in," Emily said, not surprised to see Gabby and Jack on the other side.

"Wow," Gabby said excitedly. "You look _so _pretty, Mama!" she said, jumping up on the bed to stand eye-level with her mother. "I like your hair," she commented, playing with the ends of Emily's hair.

"Thank you, sweetheart," Emily told the girl. "You look very pretty yourself. Do you like the dress I picked out?" Emily asked, referring to the purple and white frilly dress the girl was wearing.

"I love it! It's _purple_," she said dramatically. "It would be a crime not to love it,"

Emily laughed. "You're looking very nice yourself there, Jack," she told the teenager, who donned nice jeans and an orange shirt.

"Thanks," Jack smiled. "You really do look very pretty," he added.

"You guys are making me blush," Emily said.

"What about me?" Hotch asked, feigning hurt. "Does no one think I look pretty?"

Gabby laughed. "Daddy, if you looked pretty, that would be weird. You look _handsome_," she stressed the word, as if Hotch had never heard it before.

Everyone laughed again, and all four of them wandered down the stairs and out to the car, where they all ended up at the courthouse.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

With all the necessary paperwork in hand, Hotch and Emily finally found themselves in front of a judge, Jack and Gabby standing off slightly to the side. Their appointment had been set for two o'clock, but being a courthouse, they'd had to wait an extra half hour. But here they were, finally about to be wed.

"Do either of you have a preference as to who goes first?" The judge asked them, once everything was in order and ready to go.

"You go first, Em," Hotch said, to which Emily nodded.

"Alright," the judge started, clearing her throat before turning towards the audience of three witnesses. Neither Emily nor Hotch could tell you what the woman said to start their little ceremony. They were lost in their own thoughts, looking right into each others eyes, though they had been told they were supposed to face their makeshift wedding guests. Neither of them cared, though as they turned to face each other, reaching out to hold each others hands right as the judge began to speak.

"Emily Prentiss, do you take Aaron Hotchner to be your lawfully wedded husband? To live in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love, honor, comfort, and cherish him, forsaking all others, keeping only unto him for as long as you both shall live?"

To Emily, the words sounded faint, distant even. She took a deep breath and nodded, managing to speak the words, "I do," with a smile, as Hotch squeezed her hand a little tighter.

The judge then turned her attention to Hotch, asking him the same questions he asked Emily.

"I do," he said happily.

Finally, the judge asked for the rings. Jack was much too old to be considered a ring bearer, but he had been holding onto them for the time being, so he handed them to the woman who distributed them to the couple.

"Aaron, place the ring on Emily's finger, then repeat after me," she instructed. With shaking hands, he placed the gold band on Emily's ring finger.

"With this ring, I thee wed..." the judge started, and Hotch repeated her.

"Wear it as a symbol of our love and commitment," she continued, Hotch repeating her. Emily followed the same procedure, placing the ring on Hotch's finger and saying the same lines.

"By the power vested in me by the District of Columbia, I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride," she said happily.

As they kissed for the first time as husband and wife, Hotch managed to life Emily into the air, honeymoon style. He carried her out of the room, Jack and Gabby trailing closely behind them.

He didn't put Emily down until they reached their car, where he gently set her down by the passenger door.

"I love you," he said into her ear, just loud enough for her to hear.

"I love you, too," she said just as softly as he had.

"Congratulations, guys!" Jack told them, hugging them both as he did so.

"Thank you," they said happily together.

"You're married!" Gabby said happily, throwing her arms around Emily's waist, then also hugging Hotch who picked her up and spun her around, making her laugh.

"So are we Hotchners now?" Gabby asked excitedly.

"We are," Emily confirmed. Emily's name had changed with her marriage, and Gabby's name would change once the new birth certificate was sent to their house. The birth certificate was just legal proof, though. To Emily, Gabby had always been a Hotchner through and through.

"Yay!" Gabby said excitedly as they all piled into the car, prepared to go celebrate.

"I know my birthday isn't until December, but I think I know what I want," Gabby said randomly once they were on the road.

"What's that?" Hotch asked, glancing in his rearview mirror at the happy girl.

"A little brother or sister! I mean, I know I have Jack, but I wanna be the older one!" Gabby requested, practically jumping out of her seat.

"Oh my _Lord_!" Emily proclaimed. "I don't know about that, ma chere. I'm not as young as I used to be,"

"That's okay, you're not that old. Your hair's not too gray yet," she joked.

"Hey!" Emily said. "But seriously, what about a puppy?" she suggested.

"A puppy would be cool..." Gabby considered. "But I still want a baby brother or sister," she said quickly.

Emily and Hotch laughed, as their hands clasped together again. Whatever happened in the future- their future, would be just that. _Their _future together, as a family. Just where they belonged.


	30. Epilogue

**And here it is, the epilogue for this story. I wanted to have some ~team closure, and this was the best way I could think if to get that. Thank you all SO much for sticking with me, for reading this, and for all your kind reviews. I might never have finished this story if not for all of you! I'm actually kind of sad this is over, I had fun writing it! Thanks again so much to every single one of you! : )**

**-kbrewster.**

By the time the Hotchner family arrived back home, it was almost dark outside. Hotch had kept them out the rest of the afternoon. Emily found it kind of suspicious, but she waved it off. A day out with her family after what happened sounded absolutely perfect to her. Once they arrived home, Hotch insisted on leading everyone inside.

"What are you doing?" Emily asked, raising an eyebrow playfully in suspicion.

"What do you mean? We're just going inside..." Hotch teased back.

"There is something you're not telling me, Aaron Hotchner," Emily said, trying to get past Hotch without success.

"Just wait," Hotch smiled, turning the key in the lock and opening the door, motioning for the rest of them to come inside.

When Emily finally went inside, she gasped at the sight. The living room was decorated with white flowers along the door and window frames, across the back of the couch, and along the edges of the coffee table. She smiled as she walked closer to the table, seeing what sat in the center. It was a picture Emily didn't even know had been taken. It was of her, Hotch, Jack, and Gabby. All four of them were seated on the couch, Jack was sitting on the end next to Hotch, and Emily sat right next to him. Gabby had just jumped up on the couch and laid across all three of them, making them all laugh at her. Emily picked up the frame, staring at the picture, taking in the moment she remembered so clearly. Garcia must have snapped the picture when they weren't looking, because Emily remembered Garcia being at the house that day.

Emily spun around to face Hotch, clutching the picture close to her.

"Aaron- when did you- how did you-" Before any of her questions could be answered, the light in the kitchen flipped on.

"Surprise!" she heard several voices call. She wasn't expecting it, so she nearly jumped out of her skin.

Stunned, Emily watched as Garcia, JJ, Rossi, Morgan, and even Ashley Seaver walked into the living room, a happy smile on each of their faces.

"Oh my God," Emily breathed. "You guys!" She exclaimed, fighting back tears of joy.

"Did you two know about this too?" Emily asked Gabby and Jack, who neither outwardly confirmed nor denied Emily's question. The two just simply glanced at each other and smiled.

"Oh I can't believe you!" Emily said jokingly, sitting the picture frame back on the table. She turned to go greet her friends, but Garcia beat her to it. She threw her arms around Emily just as she turned around, nearly smothering the brunette.

"Oh, my precious raven-haired kitten, I am _so _glad you're okay! I was so worried! And now you're married and everything is just oh-so-perfect!" Garcia exclaimed dramatically, letting Emily go and picking up Gabby, who got a very similar greeting.

JJ approached Emily next, hugging her friend tightly.

"Congratulations," JJ smiled once the embrace ended.

"Thank you," Emily said, unable to keep a smile off her face. "I can't believe you guys did all this. It looks fantastic,"

"Anything for you guys," JJ said honestly, giving Emily's shoulder a squeeze.

Emily bit her lip, noticing the team just wasn't quite complete. "Where's um, where's Reid?" Emily asked almost hesitantly.

"We begged him to fly out, Emily. But he just... kept making up excuses," JJ told her.

"Oh," Emily said, a little disappointed. "I feel terrible,"

"No, no, no," JJ said. "There will be none of that, this is your wedding reception!"

Emily smiled, she liked the sound of that; of being married. Rossi approached the two women next.

"Mind if I cut in?" he joked, hugging Emily. "Good to see you, kiddo,"

"I think I'm a bit too old to be called a kid anymore, but it's so good to see you too, Dave," Emily quipped. "Aaron told me you sort of knew all along I was alive?" Emily questioned, curious to know how the man was able to figure it out.

"A wizard never reveals his secrets," Rossi winked.

"I think you mean magician. Age really hasn't done much for you, has it?" she joked.

Rather than return with his own witty comment, he simply hugged Emily again. "It's so good to have you back," he told her.

"I agree," Ashley said quietly as she came up behind Rossi. "I mean... I know I didn't know you all that well when all this happened. But you were a great mentor for me,"

"Ashley!" Emily said happily, throwing her arms around the younger blonde. In the midst of everything, Emily had forgotten all about telling Seaver the truth. She felt so guilty, and wanted to make it right somehow.

"I'm so sorry no one called you sooner," Emily said apologetically. "I loved having you on the team while you were there. It was fun kicking ass with you," Emily told her.

"Mama, you're not supposed to say that word!" Gabby chastised her mother teasingly, hugging Emily around the waist. Emily laughed at her as she hugged her back.

"I'll give you a dollar later, okay?" Emily promised.

"She's beautiful, Emily," Ashley said, smiling at Gabby.

"Thank you," Emily replied.

"I don't want you to feel bad about not telling me, okay? It's not your fault. You were dealing with a lot of crap that you really didn't deserve. But I am really glad you're back," Ashley said. "And," she added with a smile. "I had fun out in the field with you, too,"

Emily couldn't stop smiling. She felt like it was all she'd done since she walked through the doors, but she couldn't help it. "Thank you for understanding," Emily said. "Let's not go another ten years without speaking, okay?"

"You got it," Ashley promised, before stepping out of the way for Morgan to greet Emily.

"Hey Princess," Morgan greeted, awkwardly hugging Emily, who still had Gabby attached to her waist, causing all three of them to laugh. "And Princess Junior," he added, ruffling Gabby's hair.

Once they laughter died down a bit, Emily spoke. "Derek, I want to thank you so much for what you did. Without you, without your team, I don't know what would have happened,"

"It's no problem, Emily. I just feel bad for not trying harder sooner. It was all Hotch, though. I've never seen him more determined in my entire life," Morgan told her. "I missed you, Em. I thought- I thought I lost you,"

"I'm sorry it had to be like this. But you haven't lost me. I'm not going anywhere for a long, long time," Emily promised. "Nothing can keep me away now,"

"Good," Morgan said, taking one of Emily's hands in his.

"Emily?" JJ asked. "Your presence is requested in the kitchen,"

"What for?" Emily asked, wondering what more she could possibly need at this point.

"What for?" JJ mocked dramatically. "Emily Hotchner, this is a wedding reception! You can't have a reception without cake and presents!"

"Presents? You guys really didn't have to-"

"Mama, don't ask questions! There's cake in there!" Gabby said, letting go of her mother and practically sprinting to the kitchen, motioning for Emily to follow.

"I think I just lost my daughter to cake," Emily joked, laughing as she followed the young girl into the kitchen, everyone else following behind her.

The cake was simple, just like you'd see at any wedding reception. It wasn't massive since there weren't many people. Rossi distributed a piece to each person in attendance, before turning to Hotch and Emily.

"It's tradition, you guys have to feed each other. And by that I mean shove it in each other's face,"

"Are you serious? We're not going to-" Emily's sentence was cut off when Hotch's cake came into contact with Emily's face.

"Oh, it's on now!" she exclaimed, picking up her piece of cake in one hand and shoving it all over Hotch's face. "That'll teach you," She joked as the whole team clapped and cheered, Garcia dutifully taking pictures.

"You guys look really funny," Gabby commented from her spot at the kitchen counter, where she say happily eating her cake.

Hotch laughed, taking some of the cake off his face and putting it on Gabby's nose. "There, now you look silly too,"

Gabby took a bite of cake into her fork, prepared to fling it at someone, but Emily grabbed her arm before she could do so. "Alright, alright, let's not turn this into a food fight! I'll have to clean this up later," she said laughing.

"Aw man," Gabby complained.

Hotch and Emily excused themselves moments later to wash their faces off, disappearing into the bathroom to do so.

"Good God, I think I have cake all the way up my nasal cavity," Emily said as she wiped the remaining cake from her face.

"I'm pretty sure you got it in my ear," Hotch told her. "I might be going deaf,"

"Oh, you'll be fine," Emily quipped.

"What?" Hotch asked, cupping his ear with his hand. "Did you say something, dear?"

"Shut up," Emily requested, dropping the cloth she had been using to wipe her face, exchanging it for Hotch. She wrapped her arms around him, kissing him hard. He pressed her up against the bathroom wall, returning and deepening the kiss.

"Mm, think they'll notice if we never go back down?" Emily whispered, running her fingers through her husband's graying hair. "I think it's past our bedtime,"

"I'm pretty sure they'll notice, Em," Hotch replied.

"Well damn. You owe me later," she winked as she slipped out of his embrace, opening he bathroom door and walking outside.

"Tease," Hotch muttered, following her out to the party, where everyone was waiting.

JJ and Garcia insisted they open their gifts now, though neither Hotch nor Emily knew they truly needed anything. They sat in the living room and opened the gifts graciously to appease their friends, though.

About halfway through, the doorbell rang. Emily gave Hotch a confused look. "Were you expecting somebody else?"

"Could be a stripper," Morgan joked.

"My nine-year-old daughter is in the room, Derek," Emily reminded him.

"Right... my bad," he said sheepishly.

Hotch laughed, standing from his spot on the couch next to Emily. "I'm not expecting anyone else," he said.

For a split second, Emily felt the room tense up. _Doyle is gone,_ she kept telling herself. _He's dead. _

When Hotch opened the door, Emily let out an audible gasp. She brought her hands to her mouth. The person standing at the door was none other than Spencer Reid.

"_Reid," _She said in disbelief, meeting him halfway and enveloping him in a hug. One she thought she'd never get to give him. She hugged him tightly, worrying a bit that she was making it hard for him to breathe. Reid tensed at first, and Emily was afraid he was going to pull away, but he relaxed into the hug, returning it much to Emily's surprise.

"I'm so sorry, Reid. I'm sorry you were lied to. I'm sorry I left you like that," Emily told him, just loud enough for him to hear.

Only then did Reid pull away from Emily. "_I'm _sorry. I shouldn't have taken my anger out on you. Out on anybody. It makes sense, but I just- you're my friend, Emily. A really, really good friend. When I thought I lost you like that I almost couldn't take it,"

Emily smiled a simple, apologetic smile. "It's okay, I'm here now,"

"I know," Reid smiled. "Now, Garcia told me all about Gabby, so if it's okay I'd like to meet her..."

"Of course," Emily said, leading Reid into the living room where everyone else was waiting.

"Spence!" JJ said happily. "I'm so glad you came!"

"Yeah," Reid said. "Me, too. I almost didn't, but then I realized how ignorant I was being,"

"Gabby," Emily called for the girl, who was intently inspecting her parent's gifts; things like cookware, a new coffee maker, picture frames, and a couple of gift cards.

"Yeah?" Gabby looked up from her task.

"Come here, there's somebody you need to meet," Gabby stood from the floor and wandered shyly over to Emily, standing slightly behind her.

"Gabby, this is Spencer. He's a genius," Emily laughed.

Reid bent down to Gabby's level, hoping to ease her nerves a little. "Hi," he smiled. "Garcia told me a lot about you, I'm honored to finally get to meet you.

Gabby's eyebrows furrowed in confusion at the name. "Penelope, honey," Emily said.

"Oh," Gabby replied. "Are you _really _a genius?" Gabby asked.

Reid chuckled a bit. "My IQ says so, yes. But you know what else?"

"What's that?" Gabby asked.

"I'm also a magician," he said quietly, as if it were a secret.

"No way! Show me! Please?" Gabby asked excitedly.

"Of course, of course," Reid agreed, leading Gabby into the kitchen to show off some of his tricks.

Hotch came up behind Emily, wrapping his arms around her waist. She leaned back into him, clasping her hands over his.

"Thank you," Emily said. "For this. It's... it's perfect,"

"I'd have to say... I'm a pretty damn good husband," he joked.

"You're right about that," Emily said, turning in the man's arms and kissing him, it seemed appropriate for the moment.

Once the kiss ended, they walked hand-in-hand into the kitchen to watch Reid's magic tricks, and they had to admit they were probably just as entertained as Gabby was.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

By now, it was well past midnight. Everyone had just left, and Emily was busy cleaning up the kitchen. Everyone had offered to help her, but she declined the offer. They had already done too much for her.

"Hey Em?" Hotch whispered from the door way.

"Mhm?" Emily replied.

"I'm gonna take Gabby up to her room. She's still asleep on the couch," he laughed quietly. Gabby had fallen asleep nearly an hour and a half ago, refusing to go to bed until everyone left.

"Wait, I'll go with you," Emily said, wiping her hands off with a dish towel, following Hotch into the living room.

Hotch gently picked Gabby up, and slowly walked up the stairs and into Gabby's bedroom, Emily trailing not too far behind him.

"Should we wake her up to put on her pajamas? She's still in her dress from the wedding," Hotch pointed out, gently laying her down on the bed.

"Good luck waking her up," Emily chuckled, knowing Gabby was nearly impossible to wake up.

"I'm awake," Gabby said sleepily, sitting up in bed and rubbing her eyes tiredly.

"Did we wake you up?" Emily asked, tossing the girl a pair of pajamas from one of the drawers in the dresser.

"No," Gabby said, getting down from the bed and grabbing the pajamas Emily had tossed her. "I was just pretending so I wouldn't have to walk up the stairs," she giggled before disappearing into the bathroom to change clothes.

"Well," Emily said. "I never expected to be played by my own child,"

"Oh come on, you've probably never said 'no' to her for anything before," Hotch said.

"She wanted a pony when she was four. I told her no because it wouldn't fit in the apartment... but then I bought her a pony for her Barbie dolls," Emily explained.

"See," Hotch smirked playfully.

"I did tell her no when she said she wanted a sibling, did I not?" Emily reminded him, determined to win their pretend argument.

"But then you said you'd get her a puppy. Face it. You've spoiled her,"

"Yeah well, I wouldn't have it any other way," Emily said, just as Gabby came back into the room. She jumped up on the bed, pulling the covers back and situating herself under them.

"So," she started. "About that baby brother or sister..." Gabby said.

Emily flipped off Gabby's light and turned on the lamp that sat beside her bed. "Goodnight, sweetheart," she said, kissing Gabby's forehead as Hotch did the same.

"Okay," Gabby said. "You guys win tonight, but I'm not going to drop it," she warned them through her yawn.

Both Emily and Hotch laughed lightly. "Goodnight," they said again, exiting the room and quietly closing the door behind them.

"So, Mr. Hotchner..." Emily said once they were in their bedroom with the door closed.

"Yes, Mrs. Hotchner?" Hotch responded.

"What do you say to a little honeymoon?" She asked teasingly, removing the dress she still wore from the day's events.

"I say," he asked, kissing her, pressing her up against the wall. "I've been waiting for you to ask me that all day,"


End file.
